An automatec microwell platform for large-scale single cell RNA-seq.

We report an automated microwell array platform for single cell RNA-seq with significantly improved performance over previous implementations. We demonstrate cell capture efficiencies of >50%, compatibility with commercially available barcoded mRNA capture beads, and parallel expression profiling from thousands of individual cells. We apply our system to comprehensively assess heterogeneity in gene expression of patient-derived glioma neurospheres and uncover subpopulations similar to those observed in human glioma tissue. Performed single cell RNA-seq on thousands of cells from three cell lines.