Our collaborators from ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne showcased Live-cell sequencing (Live-Seq) using single-cell cytoplasmic biopsies. They demonstrated that by using a FluidFM Nanosyringe, it is now possible to take an extract from a cell’s cytoplasm without killing it (Cell, 2016 [1]) and that this “single-cell biopsy” is a representable snapshot of a cell’s transcriptome at a given point in time (Nature, 2022 [2]). 

Here we provide a brief summary of their findings: 

• Taking a cytoplasmic biopsy with a FluidFM Nanosyringe preserves cell viability.
• Live-Seq enables stratification of different cell types and states and makes it possible to record short and long cell state transitions of the same cells. 

• Direct correlation of a cell’s transcriptome to its phenotype enables visualization of minor transcriptional events in heterogeneous cell populations.

Additional resources:

• The cytoplasmic biopsy solution with the FluidFM OMNIUM Platform
• The FluidFM OMNIUM Platform
• The FluidFM Technology
• LUTHOR HD: Pushing the Boundaries of Single Cell Transcriptome Analysis by in vitro mRNA Amplification.

• Download directly the blog post PDF version here.