inDrops-2: a flexible, versatile and cost-efficient droplet microfluidics approach for high-throughput scRNA-seq of fresh and preserved clinical samples

Abstract

The development of a large variety of single-cell analytical techniques has empowered researchers to explore diverse biological questions at the level of individual cells. Among these, droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) methods have been particularly prevalent owing to their high-throughput capabilities and reduced reaction volumes. While commercial systems have contributed to the widespread adoption of droplet-based scRNA-seq, the relatively high cost impose limitations for profiling large numbers of samples. Moreover, as the scope and scale of single cell sequencing methods keeps expanding, the possibility to accommodate diverse molecular biology workflows and inexpensively profile multiple biospecimens simultaneously becomes highly relevant. Herein, we present inDrops-2: an open-source scRNA-seq platform designed to profile fresh or preserved clinical samples with a sensitivity matching that of state-of-the-art commercial systems, yet at a few folds lower cost. Using inDrops-2, we conducted a comparative analysis of two prominent scRNA-seq protocols - those based on exponential and linear amplification of cDNA - and provide useful insights about the pros and cons inherited to each approach. We showcase the utility of inDrops-2 by simultaneously profiling 18 human lung carcinoma samples, all in one run, following cell preservation, long-term storage and multiplexing, to obtain a multiregional cellular profile of tumor microenvironment. The scalability, experimental flexibility and cost-efficiency offered by inDrops-2 should make it appealing for various single-cell transcriptomic studies.