Issue 20, 2021

Microfluidic single-cell transcriptomics: moving towards multimodal and spatiotemporal omics

Abstract

Cells are the basic units of life with vast heterogeneity. Single-cell transcriptomics unveils cell-to-cell gene expression variabilities, discovers novel cell types, and uncovers the critical roles of cellular heterogeneity in biological processes. The recent advances in microfluidic technologies have greatly accelerated the development of single-cell transcriptomics with regard to throughput, sensitivity, cost, and automation. In this article, we review state-of-the-art microfluidic single-cell transcriptomics, with a focus on the methodologies. We first summarize six typical microfluidic platforms for isolation and transcriptomic analysis of single cells. Then the on-going trend of microfluidic transcriptomics towards multimodal omics, which integrates transcriptomics with other omics to provide more comprehensive pictures of gene expression networks, is discussed. We also highlight single-cell spatial transcriptomics and single-cell temporal transcriptomics that provide unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution to reveal transcriptomic dynamics in space and time, respectively. The emerging applications of microfluidic single-cell transcriptomics are also discussed. Finally, we discuss the current challenges to be tackled and provide perspectives on the future development of microfluidic single-cell transcriptomics.

Graphical abstract: Microfluidic single-cell transcriptomics: moving towards multimodal and spatiotemporal omics

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
10 ဇူ 2021
Accepted
03 စက် 2021
First published
13 စက် 2021

Lab Chip, 2021,21, 3829-3849

Microfluidic single-cell transcriptomics: moving towards multimodal and spatiotemporal omics

S. Lin, Y. Liu, M. Zhang, X. Xu, Y. Chen, H. Zhang and C. Yang, Lab Chip, 2021, 21, 3829 DOI: 10.1039/D1LC00607J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements