10X , recently announced the launch of our new Chromium X single cell instrument. Find out how this highly flexible system expands the reach of single cell transcriptomics to include everything from pilot studies to million-cell experiments, all with the simple touch of a button that unites proven technology with the power of scale.  

Single cells leading the way to transformative results

Exploring heterogeneity at the single cell level has enabled significant insights into human health, disease, and the complex biological systems at work behind the scenes. While this technology is still relatively young, with the first single cell RNA-seq paper debuting in 2009 (1, 2), it’s made a powerful impact on our understanding of biology. Researchers saw its value in a wide range of applications, and, as handling techniques and computational analysis tools advanced to meet their needs, the goal of increasing throughput emerged as a common challenge.

In recent years, we have seen scientists push the limits of single cell transcriptomic techniques, scaling up their work to transform the way we look at normal development, disease progression, and treatment. Among these studies are investigations into cancer treatment and COVID-19 immune response, as well as the generation of comprehensive cell atlases. Transcriptional profiling of over 200,000 cells coupled with large-scale CRISPR perturbation screens provided clues to the mechanisms influencing resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer therapy (3). A detailed record of the molecular architecture and neuronal diversity of the mammalian nervous system was built through RNA sequencing of half a million cells, providing a valuable resource for future work into understanding critical cellular interactions (4). The quest to understand dysfunctional immune response in COVID-19 patients motivated the immune profiling of 1.46 million cells from nearly 300 samples, resulting in a thorough map of the immune landscape that provides avenues for deciphering pathogenesis and developing therapeutic strategies (5). An examination of the dynamics of gene expression over the course of mammalian organogenesis yielded a global view of the cellular processes involved from transcriptional analysis of approximately two million cells, identifying hundreds of cell types and over 50 trajectories (6). The allure and promise of high-throughput sequencing is clear, with scientists looking to tackle their most complex biological questions with more extensive studies.

The new era of single cell is here

Our latest single cell platform, Chromium X, was designed to help you achieve your research objectives, with options for every stage of your single cell journey. This addition to the Chromium family of instruments expands experimental possibilities for single cell transcriptomics by leveraging proven technology and advanced hardware to yield high-quality data for everything from pilot studies to million-cell experiments.