American firm BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, has announced the commercial launch of a new single-cell research tool to help scientists better understand how the molecular machinery within a cell functions and how it regulates changes in a cell that can lead to cancer and other diseases.

Researchers worldwide are currently using innovative approaches to study multiple aspects of health and disease at a single-cell level. In the ever-evolving field of biological research, the newly launched BD Rhapsody Single Cell ATAC-Seq (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using next-generation sequencing) Assay enables scientists to perform single-cell analysis of the epigenome – the set of chemical marks, or epigenetic changes, on the DNA in a single cell that holds critical clues about mechanisms of disease.

Adding an epigenomic layer-view will play a crucial role in helping researchers track and understand how environmental factors impact the DNA and corresponding cell function. By gaining such knowledge about DNA, scientists can deepen their understanding of how diseases progress and apply those learnings to develop effective therapies.

Commercially available globally now, the BD Rhapsody ATAC-Seq Assay, BD Rhapsody TCR/BCR Next Multiomic Assay and BD Rhapsody Intracellular CITE-seq Assay are designed to be used on the BD Rhapsody Single-Cell Analysis System – a gentle, microwell-based instrument for conducting single cell research.