Unmet Need
· Current techniques for in situ transcriptomics (or spatial transcriptomics) are effectively limited to thin tissue sections of approximately 15 microns due to the poor molecular diffusion and opacity of thicker tissues. Consequently, these techniques are unable to resolve spatial variation of transcription in 3D. Thus, there is a need for new methods that can detect RNA within thicker tissue sections for investigating 3D variation in transcription, and ultimately broaden the scope for molecular diagnostic approaches.
Value Proposition
· Resolves spatial transcriptomics in tissue sections up to 400 microns in thickness
· Outperforms existing techniques with ten-fold higher sensitivity
Technology Description
· Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a tissue processing and RNA detection approach that can spatially resolve RNA transcripts in tissues sections up to 400 microns in thickness. The method involves several key steps that not only clear the tissue but also remove elements that may interfere with reagent diffusion and target molecule detection, resulting in high sensitivity in deep tissue sections. Overall, this technique is ten-times more sensitive than a comparable state-of-the-art in situ transcriptomics method, and allows much larger tissue sections to be analyzed.
Stage of Development
· Proof of principle studies have been performed
