This presentation is led by two experts from the spatial biology division of Biotechne: Bryan Serrels, Technical Sales Specialist UK, at Lunaphore, and Natalie Rowe, Spatial Biology Specialist at ACD.
In their talk, they take us through Biotechne’s COMET platform, an innovative approach for robust spatial multiomics. COMET features 20 reservoirs for antibodies or RNAscope probes and a four-slide rotating stage with an integrated microscope.
The COMET platform uses standard immunohistochemistry slides and a microfluidic chamber. Serrels highlighted that the increased pressure and the decreased space between antibodies and antigens speeds up immuno reactions, with typical antibody incubation times between four to eight minutes.
Because COMET uses off-the-shelf reagents and allows researchers to choose antibodies from any vendor, it is a truly open and flexible platform. Furthermore, Biotechne do not pool antibodies together into 20 or 30 plex pools, avoiding issues like antibody crosstalk or stearic hindrance.
Sequential immunofluorescence is the process which COMET is built upon. The tissue is stained with pairs of antibodies, those antibodies are imaged and then eluted very gently off the tissue. The COMET platform avoids tissue degradation and has complete antibody removal, preserving tissue integrity for further analysis.
Lunaphore and ACD are joined into a stable working relationship, making up the spatial biology division of Biotechne and futureproofing the application of the COMET platform. Part of this relationship sees the platform combine sequential immunofluorescence with RNAscope. This allows for same section multiomics without protease requirements, maintaining protein data quality.
Serrels explained how images from COMET are compatible with third-party software like HALO and Visiopharm, and Lunaphore offers its own basic analysis package called HORIZON.
Rowe then jumped in to discuss a case study that her team had developed with BluebirdBio to evaluate CAR T therapies. She showcased the utility of RNAscope in detecting CAR targets and understanding T cell activity. The combination of RNAscope and COMET enables detailed analysis of RNA and protein targets, aiding in research where antibodies may be lacking.
