Biological resolution at the level of individual cells is powering the next phase of precision health. Honeycomb Biotechnologies offers a new solution for single-cell technology: HIVE scRNAseq. The HIVE is a portable, handheld, single-use device that enables gentle capture, robust storage, and easy processing for the analysis of single-cell samples. The HIVE scRNAseq Solution integrates sample storage and single-cell profiling into a single workflow, facilitating decentralized collection and centralized processing of samples. The design of the HIVE is ideal for the recovery of fragile cells, loading of large sample volumes, and efficient processing of numerous samples in parallel, particularly valuable for clinical applications.
Here, we demonstrate robust capture and profiling of all cell types isolated from bone marrow, essential when studying heterogeneous blood cancers or metastasis. Fresh human bone marrow was filtered to remove red blood cells and then loaded onto the HIVE or cryopreserved. The cell-loaded HIVEs were either processed immediately or stored for 7 days before processing. The cryopreserved samples were stored for 7 days and then loaded onto the HIVE and processed immediately. The HIVE is pre-loaded with transcript capture beads, and the molecular signal of each sample was locked at the time of sample collection. Beads with captured transcripts were extracted from the HIVE, and the remaining HIVE library preparation steps were conducted in a 96-well plate format. HIVE scRNAseq libraries were sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeqTM 6000 and analyzed with BeeNet, Honeycomb’s software solution specifically designed for the HIVE scRNAseq libraries, outputting count matrix files. Seurat was used for secondary analysis. We provide data demonstrating that the quality and biological complexity of single-cell RNAseq data generated using the HIVE scRNAseq Solution with integrated storage is comparable to data generated from freshly processed samples. However, cryopreserved samples fail to retain the complete complexity of the tissue. Honeycomb aims to expand single-cell opportunities across basic, translational, and clinical research throughout the world.