Nova-ST: Nano-Patterned Ultra-Dense platform for spatial transcriptomics [Nova-ST]

Spatial transcriptomics workflows using barcoded capture arrays are commonly used for resolving gene expression in tissues. However, existing techniques are either limited by capture array density or are cost prohibitive for large scale atlasing. We present Nova-ST, a dense nano-patterned spatial transcriptomics technique derived from randomly barcoded Illumina sequencing flow cells. Nova-ST enables customized, low cost, flexible, and high-resolution spatial profiling of large tissue sections. Benchmarking on mouse brain sections demonstrates significantly higher sensitivity compared to existing methods, at reduced cost. 6-8 week old C57BL/6J mice were used for these experiments. Five coronal brain sections were taken and Nova-ST spatial transcriptomics libraries were created