We are pleased to offer a suite of Bruker Spatial Biology (BSB, formerly NanoString) platforms, designed to facilitate transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of cells and tissues. Additionally, we are proud to be a Bruker Spatial Biology-Certified Service Provider for GeoMx and nCounter applications, reflecting the high standards to which we adhere in the laboratory, and the high-quality, robust results that come from this stringency.

We have a track record of productive collaboration with internal and external partners within the academic and commercial sector (see publications, below).

For project-specific enquiries please complete the enquiry form, or for general enquiries email coi.spatial@ndm.ox.ac.uk

Individual platform capabilities are summarised below:

NCOUNTER PRO

Uses fluorescence-reporter based hybridisation to quantify RNA transcripts within a sample. Capable of  simultaneously detecting levels of expression of up to 800 genes from cells or tissue, using commercially available or custom-designed panels. 

The platform benefits from short hands-on time leading to rapid turnaround (RNA to results within 24 hours) and ability to analyse up to 12 samples per cartridge, and 6 cartridges per run. Downstream analysis can be undertaken using proprietary software (nSolver), cloud-based analysis platforms (such as ROSALIND) or using R/Python, and is typically more straightforward than bioinformatic analysis of RNA sequencing data.

Find out more about the platform here.

GEOMX DIGITAL-SPATIAL PROFILER (DSP)

The GeoMx DSP platform combines immunofluorescence with multiplex gene or protein expression analysis in order to provide highly detailed information about networks in tissue sections.

Immunofluorescence is used to identify regions or cell populations of interest on formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE), tissue microarray (TMA) or fresh frozen sections. Areas chosen can then be interrogated in depth - depending on the tissue and probeset used, up to 21,000 genes or 1200 proteins and post-translational modifications can be quantified within defined regions or cell populations. Off-the-shelf and custom panels are available.

Deconvolution of probe-sets is undertaken using the nCounter platform or next-generation sequencing, with downstream analysis using BSB proprietary software or coding platforms such as R or Python. Packages and pipelines are publicly available for this.

Find out more about the platform here.

COSMX SPATIAL MOLECULAR IMAGER (SMI) 

The CosMX SMI platform offers proteomic (up to 100 targets) or transcriptomic (up to 18,000 genes) analysis across an entire FFPE, TMA or fresh frozen section at single-cell (and even subcellular) resolution. Both off-the-shelf and custom panels are available.

Results are automatically uploaded to the AtoMx Spatial Informatic Platform (SIP) for visualisation, initial QC and analysis, with easy export of datasets for offline bioinformatic evaluation.

Find out more about the platform here.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND PRE-PRINTS RELATING TO THE HUB:

"Machine perfusion and single-cell spatial transcriptome mapping identifies novel immune escape mechanisms in colorectal cancer liver metastasis" Wan et al, bioRxiv, 2025

"Localised signalling networks co-opt TGF-B2 to promote an immuno-exclusive mesenchymal niche within human squamous cell carcinoma" Bottomley et al, medRxiv, 2025

"Immune and Mutational Profile of gene-edited low-immunogenic human primary cholangiocyte organoids" Petrus-Reurer et al, bioRxiv, 2025

"How can spatial transcriptomic profiling advance our understanding of skin disease?" Kumaran et al, J Invest Dermatol, 2024