MGI Tech has launched a large-chip design of its Stereo-seq OMNI platform for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples, presenting it at the third Conference of the European Society for Spatial Biology, held from 28 September to 1 October at Hotel Meliá Sitges near Barcelona. The launch extends the company's spatial transcriptomics portfolio to research questions that need a wider view of tissue architecture, the company said, and continues the integration of STOmics' spatial technologies into its portfolio following the acquisition.
FFPE tissue is widely used in research because it preserves morphology and supports studies of archived specimens, MGI said. Standard capture areas, it said, can limit the view of larger or structurally diverse sections. The large-chip design is intended to let researchers examine more of a tissue section within a single spatial experiment, so that local gene-expression patterns can be placed in a broader anatomical context. It builds on Stereo-seq OMNI V1.1, MGI's spatial transcriptomics solution for FFPE samples.
The design is made for chip formats of up to 2 cm by 3 cm and for studies that need to profile larger tissues, multiple sections or tissue microarray layouts. MGI said a wider capture area may reduce the need to piece together data from separate tissue regions, and that linking molecular measurements with tissue morphology can help researchers compare regions within a sample and investigate how cell populations are distributed across them. It cited cancer research, where tumor regions may be examined together with surrounding tissue including the boundaries where cell populations interact, and developmental biology and immunology, where cell states or immune organization may need to be followed across a broader section.
MGI also set out the wider Stereo-seq workflow at the meeting. Stereo-seq OMNI supports total-RNA profiling of FFPE tissue; Go Spatial automates post-imaging sample preparation for both FFPE and fresh frozen samples; and StereoLink, for which early access opportunities are available, is an FFPE tissue-transfer solution designed to assist H&E-guided transfer from standard glass slides to Stereo-seq chips. The company also highlighted VisiOmics (PMIF-20RS), its automated multiplex immunofluorescence staining and imaging system for spatial proteomics, which maps protein markers and cell phenotypes in tissue sections including FFPE samples.
Fang Chen, vice president of MGI and general manager of Europe and Africa, said researchers increasingly need to see how molecular signals relate across larger tissue areas and that the FFPE large-chip design is intended to help them study those relationships within a wider spatial context. MGI said its participation in the conference gives researchers an opportunity to discuss sample selection, study design and analysis needs with its specialists, and that it shared scientific presentations and application examples during the meeting. The company said it will continue to work with research groups and service partners to improve access to spatial transcriptomics technologies.
