Table 3.
Advantages and limitations of commercially available instruments for single-cell collection and analysis.
| Platforms | Advantage | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Chromium System (10x Genomics) | High cell capture efficiency, easy to operate, end-to-end solution, multiple applications, well established platform, intensive support | High initial cell concentration required, no users modification possible |
| Nadia (Dolomite Bio) | Open platform, possibility to develop own protocols, multiple applications (PACS, DroNc-Seq) | High initial cell concentration required, lower cell capturing efficiency, no analysis software provided, skills to operate required |
| InDrop System (1CellBio) | High cell capture efficiency, open platform, possibility to develop own protocols | High initial cell concentration required, no analysis software support, skills to operate required |
| Illumina Bio-Rad ddSEQ Single-Cell Isolator | Product from industry leaders, easy to operate, end-to-end solution, kits for different starting number of cells | High initial cell concentration required, no users modification possible, single application (RNA-Seq) |
| Tapestri Platform (MissionBio) | Only platform dedicated to DNA-Seq, easy to operate, customized panels available | Single application possible (DNA-Seq) |
| BD Rhapsody Single-Cell Analysis System (BD) | Possibility to optimize costs (subsampling, archiving, targeted assays), easy to operate, end-to-end solution, protein detection promised | Single application possible (targeted RNA-Seq) |
| ICELL8 Single-Cell System (Takara) | Combined high throughput with active cell selection, easy to operate | Bioinformatics analysis not provided, single application (RNA-Seq) |
| C1 System and Polaris (Fluidigm) | Variable throughput (48–800 cells), multiple applications, customizable protocols, cell stimulation, well established platform, intensive support | Size-based cell selection (C1) |
| Puncher Platform (Vycap) | Filtering for rare cell capturing, active cell selection, visual control, high transferring efficiency, easy to operate, established WGA/WTA protocols | Low throughput, bioinformatics analysis not provided |
| CellRaft AIR System (CellMicrosystems) | Multiple applications (cultivation and tracking cell phenotypes, substance testing), active cell selection, visual control, high transfer efficiency, cost-effective manual version available | Low throughput, bioinformatics analysis not provided, adhesive properties of cells expected (although not mandatory) |
| DEPArray NxT (Menarini Silicon Biosystems) | Active cell selection, visual control, high transfer efficiency, possibility to study cell–cell interaction, established WGA/WTA protocols | Low throughput, bioinformatics analysis not provided; compared to other low-throughput instruments, a high price of consumables (chips) |
| AVISO CellCelector (ALS) | Active cell selection, visual control, multiple applications (transfer cell colonies), low price for consumables | Low throughput, bioinformatics analysis not provided, skills to operate required, adhesive properties of cells lower transfer efficiency, risk of contamination from co-transferred medium |