12.2021 | THE SCIENTIST 37Vizgen
MERSCOPE
One of two spatial genomics tools in this
year’s Top 10, Vizgen’s MERSCOPETM is the
only single-cell spatial genomics instrument
currently available for purchase. Designed to
conduct and analyze multiplex error resistant
fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH)
experiments, the platform detects RNA tran-
scripts from hundreds of genes across intact
tissue and returns imaging and expression
data at subcellular resolution.
The product was developed as “a new
sort of research tool that gives people this
unprecedented view into biological systems,”
says Vizgen cofounder and director of tech-
nology and partnerships George Emanuel.
“You know exactly where each transcript is
with 100-nanometer accuracy.”
The Salk Institute’s Pallav Kosuri, who is
using MERSCOPETM for detailed cardiac tis-sue imaging, says it’s useful to work directly
with the instrument, adding that while sam-
ple prep is laborious, the analysis is fully
automated by MERSCOPETM. “Everything
has worked really smoothly,” says Kosuri,
who did his postdoc in the Harvard Univer-
sity lab where the technology was developed
but was not involved in the work. When he’s
needed technical support, “the company
has been really good at dedicating time and
effort to troubleshoot with us.”
One $300,000 purchase includes the auto-
mated instrumentation, plus data visualization
software and other infrastructure needed to run
MERFISH experiments; reagents and probes for
researchers' genes of interest cost extra. The
first units were shipped in August of this year.
Kosuri says Vizgen can price the plat-
form so high because currently, they “are
the only ones doing this.” But it’s prohibi-
tively expensive for many labs. “As an
investigator, it’s super steep.”KAMDAR:“MERSCOPE is the first commer-
cially available high-plex, single-cell spatial
genomics platform for spatially profiling gene
expression across whole tissues and resolving
individual transcripts with nanometer-scale
resolution. The coordination of gene expression
and spatial profiling opens new windows in
the precise architecture of a cell.Emulate
Brain-ChipThe blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a
challenge for the development of drugs that
target the brain. Layers of cells that line the
blood vessels of the brain evolved to help
keep out toxins or other molecules that could
potentially harm this vital organ, but theyalso block the passage of most therapeutics.
With a decade-long history of developing
organ-on-a-chip models, biotechnology
company Emulate set out to create one that
could accurately model this barrier and the
structures on either side of it.
“This is our most complex and most
adventurous chip because it not only has
the endothelial cells, it has astrocytes,
pericytes, microglia, and neurons,” says
Lorna Ewart, the company’s executive
vice president of science.
The Brain-Chip, which was released in
December 2020, consists of two channels
embedded in flexible rubber polymer. One
channel is lined with stem cell–derived
endothelial cells, representing blood ves-
sel walls, and the other is lined with neu-
rons and glia. Midway along the chip, the
two channels come into contact. As fluid
moves through the “blood vessel” chan-
nel, scientists can study how molecules
interact with and move to the other chan-nel—effectively crossing the BBB—and
how they affect structures there.
The Brain-Chip can model both healthy
and unhealthy neurological states. At
Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, developmental
biologist Michael Workman and colleagues
have been using patient-derived stem cell
lines to create models of neurodegenera-
tive diseases such as Parkinson’s on the
Brain-Chip. “Each one of these chips is like
a little patient avatar,” he says. “We do have
a large interest in that personalized health
and precision medicine approach, and see
these microfluidic chips as a way to push
more towards that.”
Emulate declined to provide a price
for Brain-Chip, as it depends on end users’
requirements.WILEY:“Very sophisticated organ-on-a-chip
for brain research, providing a new and powerful
approach for investigating mechanisms of neuro-
VIZGEN; EMULATE INC. inflammation and blood-brain barrier function."