A platform for massively parallel metabolite analysis in single cells

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The cell is the fundamental unit of biology. However, in the past while we could see single cells within a complicated tissue using a microscope, it was very hard to know what was inside each individual cell - which genes were turned on or off in each cell? How was each cell taking up and processing the rich soup of biological molecules from our diet? How many different types of cell are present in a lump of tissue or in a single organ? This has changed dramatically in the last 5 years as single-cell technologies have revolutionized biology. Instead of having to look at which genes are on or off in an entire mass of tissue (e.g. 'brain' or 'liver') or in a whole tumour, we can now look at which genes are on or off in each individual cell in that tissue or tumour. This has transformed how we look at cancer biology or developmental biology. However, current single cell technologies can only examine RNA and DNA sequences - they cannot measure the many thousands of small molecules and metabolites that are present in each cell. This is a major hole in our understanding. The Fraser group has invented a new method that will allow us to measure hundreds of metabolites in parallel in single cells in a way that is completely compatible with current single cell technologies that measure gene expression. With our invention, we will be able to read both gene expression AND metabolite levels in single cells - this will provide a dramatically new way to see metabolism and drug uptake and processing in each cell of a complex tissue. The proposal here is to fund a deep market analysis. We plan to protect our invention by filing a patent in the next 1-2 months but from that point we will need to engage with knowledge leaders and potential industry partners to see the best route to take our invention to market. This market analysis will be an essential guide to drive this.