When starting with single-cell sequencing, your might ask yourself: do I make use of a core facility or service provider?
There are actually three options for single-cell sequencing. You can either make use of the core facility in your institute, outsource your project to a service provider or do everything by yourself. Here, we explain these three options.
Core facility
Many large institutes have a core facility dedicated to single-cell sequencing or dedicated to genomics in general.
For many academic researchers, their local core facility is a logical choice: they are close by, often very accessible, and you might already know your colleagues that run the facility. Often, they can assist you in the data analysis as well.
However, core facilities can be limited in their capacity and might be limited in offered techniques. Most core facilities do offer the most popular platform: 10x Genomics.
And if you are a scientist at a commercial company, an academic core facility is probably not your first choice.
Service provider
Since the single-cell sequencing field is still rapidly growing, many service providers have added single-cell sequencing to their service portfolio. This is often the 10x Genomics platform.
There are many factors in which service providers are different: pricing, throughput times, and additional services. For example, if you have a project with many samples and you need data soon, you might prefer a service provider that delivers quickly.
At Single Cell Discoveries, we focus on complete single-cell projects. This means that we guide our clients from start to finish, from project design to data analysis. This is especially fit for scientists who prefer to outsource everything, need a little more guidance in the process, or work on challenging single-cell projects.
Also, we are a Certified Service Provider for 10x Genomics. This means that we adhere to the 10x Genomics standards when performing your experiment.
Do everything by yourself
Some scientists prefer to do single-cell sequencing within their own group or department. There can be many reasons to choose this option. For example, you might want to keep full control over the samples or the project.
Or, you are planning to do a lot of single-cell work now and in the future. Then it might be better for you to, for example, purchase your own 10x Genomics Chromium Controller.
What do you choose?
These are the three options for doing single-cell sequencing. What you choose depends on your preferences and your project. You can read more about designing your project in our blog “How to decide your single-cell sequencing parameters”.
Interested in working with us? Download our information guide for more information or book a meeting with one of our specialists.
