ATDBio and a research team at the Botnar Research Centre, University of Oxford, have been awarded funding by Innovate UK to improve single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq).

Througt the development of new materials for scRNA-Seq, the partners expect to increase its use in research and diagnosis of diseases such as cancer, and thus fuel advances in precision medicine.

The ￡369,632 grant will enable the parties to access the single-cell genome sequencing market, which, they note, is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2025.

In the most frequently used method of scRNA-seq – droplet-based scRNA-seq – the droplets enclose individual cells and microbeads which are labelled with oligonucleotides (short DNA or RNA molecules).

With the funding from Innovate UK, ATDBio will develop improved oligonucleotide-tagged microbeads to boost the quality of the sequencing results and faciliate new types of experiments.

“Our collaboration with the University of Oxford began in response to frequent comments from our customers about the need for improved droplet-based scRNA-seq microbeads,” said Dr Tom Brown Jnr, chief scientific officer of ATDBio.

This grant from Innovate UK allows ATDBio to use its oligonucleotide synthesis expertise to make the technology more effective and more accessible to researchers and clinicians.”

“Droplet-based scRNA-Seq and related technologies have revolutionised in the past decade our understanding of biology in general and have the potential to transform the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer. We are grateful for the support by Innovate UK to promote our goal of bringing this technology closer to clinical application, together with the ATDBio team,” added Professor Udo Oppermann, director of Laboratory Sciences at the Botnar Research Centre.