The MERSCOPE® Platform

Position yourself at the forefront of scientific discovery with the MERSCOPE® Platform, the industry’s high plex, in situ single-cell spatial genomics solution. MERSCOPE uses MERFISH spatial transcriptomics technology to directly map and quantify the spatial distribution of hundreds to tens of thousands of RNA species in individual cells, without the need for downstream sequencing. Benefit from ultimate flexibility and efficiency without compromising sensitivity as you dive deeper into cellular landscapes. Support for two different flow cell sizes optimizes cost per sample by enabling users to adjust reagent volume based on area imaged. Accelerate your research and discover new frontiers with MERSCOPE® , where every pixel holds the potential for a groundbreaking discovery.

How MERFISH Works

MERFISH technology expands on the capabilities of single molecule FISH (smFISH) by using combinatorial labeling, sequential imaging, and error-robust barcoding to detect RNA with sub-micron accuracy. This gives researchers a window into the intracellular organization of the transcriptome within every cell.

The system’s error-correcting barcoding scheme and combinatorial labeling ensure the highest detection accuracy of transcripts. If the background fluorescence does cause a readout error, the system can easily assign the readout to the nearest correct barcode. While MERFISH doesn’t require sequencing, the measurements taken with MERSCOPE correlate with bulk RNA-seq data and are highly reproducible between replicates. MERSCOPE provides a greater detection efficiency than array-based platforms, identifying 70x more transcripts per gene.

A Complete Spatial Transcriptomics Solution

We integrated MERFISH spatial transcriptomics technology with high resolution spatial imaging, fluidics, image processing, and automation to deliver a complete end-to-end spatial genomics solution. The MERSCOPE® Platform comes with everything your lab needs to get started with spatial imaging. We built our expertise into every component of the system so you can easily obtain and analyze high-quality MERFISH measurements.

Dive deeper into your samples with MERFISH 2.0 sensitivity

Coming in late 2024, get more spatial transcriptomic data out samples with degraded RNA, including archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples.

Launching for the MERSCOPE® Platform MERFISH 2.0 will leverage enhanced RNA anchoring and signal enhancement to build on the original MERFISH sensitivity and reproducibility.

With MERFISH 2.0, you will be able to directly map and quantify the spatial distribution of RNA species in individual cells in a wider array of samples.

Features of the MERSCOPE® Platform

1. Ultra-high sub-cellular spatial resolution;

2. Larger detection area for each single slice;

3. Faster scanning and detection speed;

4. Higher detection sensitivity;

5. Simultaneously detect thousands of genes and multiple proteins on the same slice; 

6. Accurate segmentation of cell boundaries; 

7. Suitable for long-term preserved FFPE samples; 

8. Compatibility with more types of samples: including fresh/fixed frozen tissues, FFPE and cell samples, etc. The species are not limited to humans, mice, plants, planarians, etc.; 

9. Completely customized Gene Panels; 

10. Powerful core optical components.

The Applications

MERFISH is a game-changing technology in single-cell genomics and has broad applications in both fundamental biology and medicine, ranging from basic science, to drug discovery, to clinical pathology. Given its ability to quantify RNAs across a wide range of abundances while preserving native context, MERFISH enables many applications of in situ transcriptomic analyses of individual cells in culture or complex tissues.

Human Liver Cancer Sample

Figure 1: FFPE Human Liver Cancer sample analyzed with Vizgen’s MERSCOPE Immuno-Oncology Panel (500 genes). Genes shown in image are Sox9 (purple), Epcam (blue), Foxp3 (yellow).