An Optically Decodable Bead Array for Linking Imaging and Sequencing with Single-Cell Resolution

Optically decodable beads link the identity of an analyte or sample to a measurement through an optical barcode, enabling libraries of biomolecules to be captured on beads in solution and decoded by fluorescence. This approach has been foundational to microarray, sequencing, and flow-based expression profiling technologies. We have combined microfluidics with optically decodable beads to link phenotypic analysis of living cells to sequencing. As a proof-of-concept, we applied this to demonstrate an accurate and scalable tool for connecting live cell imaging to single-cell RNA-Seq called Single Cell Optical Phenotyping and Expression (SCOPE-Seq). Overall design: Performed SCOPE-Seq on thousands of cells from two cell lines.