Retro Biosciences automates single-cell RNA sequencing library preparation with OT-2

Single-cell RNA sequencing enables transcriptomic analysis on a single-cell basis, and this research can provide further insights into some rare and valuable cell populations. Although single-cell RNA sequencing technology is becoming more widely used, the technology is still quite expensive. In addition to the cost of the sequencing platform and each individual run, the library preparation step is expensive and laborious. However, automating library preparation steps can effectively reduce the variability of experimental results, while saving researchers valuable time and freeing their hands, allowing researchers to have more time to design experiments or analyze data.

Currently, the cost of automated library preparation for single-cell RNA sequencing on the market is as high as $260,000, which is beyond the budget of most small research laboratories on the market. In order to provide this automation technology to more laboratories, Retro Biosciences has successfully "hacked" Opentrons' OT-2 automated pipetting platform to enable automated library preparation functions at a cost of only $26,000! Save 10 times startup costs.

Retro Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company located in California, focusing on plasma therapy, cell reprogramming and autophagy research.

Q: Please briefly introduce Retro Biosciences? A: Retro Biosciences was originally founded as a clinical therapeutics drug development company, and later its main business was to develop preventive drugs to solve the problem of cellular aging. While most biology companies studying aging focus on a single mechanism of aging, Retro Biosciences is a multi-program company and we are working hard to explore three therapies: cell reprogramming, autophagy and plasma-inspired therapies. We know that more than 80% of the disease burden among patients seen in hospitals is due to mechanisms of aging, so we want to find treatments that directly address these issues and help more patients.

Q: How can automation help you achieve your goals? A: Machine automation is tireless and can work continuously. At the same time, the efficiency of automation significantly exceeds that of manual labor. We are exploring unknown biology, and some of these explorations involve a very wide range of parameters and parameter combinations. If researchers continue to use manual methods to conduct experiments, I think it is a waste of researchers' scientific minds.

Q: You created a very cool and very affordable solution for automated library preparation for single-cell RNA sequencing. Please tell us about your original intention for creating this solution and how you did it? A: Library preparation is an introductory project for us. The biggest advantage of automation is that you can automatically operate those links that are inherently repetitive, where errors are least expected, saving time and reducing manual errors. We do a lot of single-cell RNA sequencing here. The analysis and research tasks we face every time we sequence are so heavy that we have to develop new software features (such as level-specific pipetting) and hardware features (such as an improved magnetic bead separation system) that allow us to intuitively Review all steps in the protocol to identify errors and verify quality.

Q: You are atGithub < /strong>This work was published on the Internet and received a good response. Why did you decide to make this work public? A: For us, the benefits to society of lowering research costs across a broad range of biological research far outweigh our narrow concerns about competitive relationships with our peers. We hope that more researchers engaged in similar research can benefit from automation.

Retro Biosciences created its own automated single-cell sequencing library preparation process by demonstrating the Opentrons open source automated pipetting system, helping more laboratories researching single-cell sequencing to start automation and improve their research efficiency. Our open source automation programs can be programmed to do anything a researcher needs while keeping the cost low. We are blown away by the innovation led by Retro Biosciences and look forward to their continued innovation in the future.