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Asteria^©, the latest breakthrough single-cell RNA-sequencing kit developed by Scipio bioscience, is now commercially available for any researcher worldwide. This innovative hydrogel-based benchtop kit enables the transcriptomic profiling of 10,000 individual cells per sample, instrument-free.

By purchasing the kit, researchers also gain access to its intuitive and entirely cloud-based analysis software, Cytonaut©. The combination of the kit and software is a comprehensive end-to-end single-cell solution – sequencing excepted – accessible to any scientist with or without prior knowledge of single-cell technology and bioinformatics.

The new kit offers an opportunity for both single-cell researchers looking for an inventive alternative to the solutions offered by the current market and for scientists new to the field wanting to generate their first single-cell datasets without a heavy initial investment. At an affordable price, a researcher can process fresh samples of 10,000 cells immediately with a stable stopping point within two hours, simplifying sample management at the laboratory and limiting transcriptional changes. The straightforward hydrogel technology bypasses the use of microfluidics and nano-wells, allowing the generation of barcoded cDNA entirely on the workbench and independently from the studied cell types.

For use with Asteria, Scipio bioscience developed Cytonaut, an end-to-end software solution covering pre- and post-processing analysis as well as interactive data visualization and generation of publication-ready results and figures. Hosted in a secure cloud infrastructure, it guides the user through the analysis step by step, enables researchers to free themselves from heavy computing resources and let them exploit their data without prerequired knowledge in bioinformatics.

“We are achieving our goal of bringing a single-cell solution to every lab”, says Pierre Walrafen, CEO at Scipio bioscience, “empowering researchers to use single-cell sequencing unhindered by the technical, logistical and cost limitations of current solutions. With the Asteria kit ready in the freezer for on-the-spot profiling and cloud-based Cytonaut accessible from any computer for immediate bioinformatic analysis, anyone can start generating high-quality single-cell data on their own terms.”

“When investigating the impact of radiotherapy on lung tissue, it is essential that we analyse our samples immediately to measure a transcriptomic profile as close to physiological conditions as possible”, comments Dr. Charles Fouillade from the Repair, Radiation and Innovative Anticancer Therapies team led by Prof. Arturo Londoño at Curie Institute, Paris, France. “And thanks to the Asteria kit protocol, we can quickly capture the mRNAs and resume the experiment the next day without loss of gene expression. The Asteria kit and Cytonaut software are extremely easy to use and will undoubtedly facilitate access to single-cell data for research teams throughout the world."

To distribute the Asteria single-cell RNA-seq kit, Scipio bioscience has partnered with Witec AG in Switzerland, BioCat in Austria and Germany, Ozyme in France, and Thistle Scientific in the UK and Ireland. For any other countries, orders can be made directly at Scipio bioscience. Early purchases will benefit from a substantially lower innovator’s price.

Discover Asteria and Cytonaut

About Scipio bioscience

Scipio bioscience is an early-stage company that develops innovative solutions for single-cell sample preparation and data analysis to answer the growing needs of basic and clinical research labs.

The Asteria© single-cell RNA-seq kit is the first kit of a range of products to provide complete solutions in single-cell sample preparation. Scipio bioscience’s solutions are designed to make single-cell studies accessible to any researcher at any laboratory bench, without resorting to complex and/or costly instruments.

The patented technology is based on an innovative chemical approach conceived by its President and Co-Founder, Prof Stuart Edelstein, a world-renowned biophysicist. Dr Pierre Walrafen, CEO and Co-Founder of Scipio bioscience, directs the team of experts based in Paris. With its R&D laboratories and offices in Paris, France, Scipio bioscience was supported by the Région Île-de-France and the Programme d’Investissement d’Avenir, operated by BPI France, as well as receiving significant private investment.