SMARTer™ ICELL8® Single-Cell System

SMARTer ICELL8 Single-Cell System: Open Platform for Single-Cell Analysis

Single-cell analysis is a powerful method for understanding cellular heterogeneity. Having a high-throughput method to isolate nuclei or single cells of any size, and the flexibility to analyze multiple parameters in single experiments is highly desired for downstream applications like next-generation sequencing. High-throughput single-cell experiments are typically carried out in droplets, fluidic chambers, or nanowells. Regardless of the method it is crucial to be able to distinguish true single cells from multiple cells, and live cells from dead cells, to make meaningful conclusions from the data.

The SMARTer ICELL8 Single-Cell System is an advanced automation platform that combines the power of imaging with the isolation of single cells in 5,184 nanowells. In contrast with other platforms, the SMARTer ICELL8 system employs a large-bore nozzle dispenser for unbiased cell size isolation. Imaging allows the differentiation of single cells from multiple cells. Additionally, with the use of fluorescence, imaging can also be used for live/dead analysis in conjunction with the use of cellular dyes. The system comes with integrated CellSelect^® software that analyzes the images and provides the ability to proceed only chosen wells, eliminating the noise from multiple-cell-containing wells or empty wells.

The SMARTer ICELL8 platform allows parallel processing of up to eight samples, making it suitable for performing replicates and eliminating batch effects. While the system comes validated with various applications, it is an open platform that allows the user to develop their own applications of choice.

Features:

• Dispensing
• Automated dispensing of cells and reagents by the ICELL8 MultiSample Nanodispenser
• Accommodates up to eight samples
• Flexible options for volume and pattern dispensation
• Unbiased isolation of 1,000–1,800 single cells in a 5,184-nanowell chip
• Imaging
• Automated rapid and robust imaging with the ICELL8 Imaging Station
• Simple user interface
• Imaging channels for live/dead analysis of cells*

*CellTracker Red or a combination of Hoechst and propidium iodide dyes can be used for cell identification and viability assessment.

Selection:

• Autoselect single cells or nuclei for downstream analysis with CellSelect software
• Evaluate staining for cell viability
• Distinguish single-cell-containing wells from empty and doublet-containing wells
• Chips and reagents (sold separately)
• 5,184-nanowell chips
• Chips of varying depth hold 150, 250, or 350 nl
• Blank chips and preprinted chips for specific applications

Applications:

• Differential expression by 3' end counting
• TCR profiling
• Full-length transcriptome analysis
• ATAC-seq