Compatible with human blood using GEM-X Flex v2 (GEM-X Flex Apex)
GEM-X Flex offers comprehensive, scalable solutions to measure gene expression in formaldehyde-fixed samples. This protocol outlines fixation of human blood and isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or leukocytes from the fixed blood for use with the GEM-X Flex and Flex v2 (Apex) workflows. The protocol supports BD Vacutainer K2 EDTA and Streck Cell-Free DNA (Streck) blood collection tubes for cell isolation from fixed blood and can be executed in either tubes or plates for added flexibility. It also provides guidance on best practices for sample handling, storage, and post-storage processing.
For head-to-head EDTA, Streck, and PAXgene Blood RNA (PAXgene) blood collection tube (BCT) performance across GEM-X Flex v2, GEM-X Universal 5' v3, and GEM-X Universal 3’ v4, see the Extended Collection-to-Processing Windows with Blood Collection Tubes for 10x Single Cell Assays (CG001727) Technical Note. The Technical Note also includes processing steps for PAXgene BCTs.