The Single-Cell Technology Landscape

Choosing a single-cell method starts with one question: what do you need to measure? This field guide sorts the single-cell technology landscape by analyte rather than by supplier. It covers genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, spatial, and multiomic methods. For each analyte class, it explains what is measured, how it is amplified or captured, and where its main limits are. It pays particular attention to the trade-off between throughput and per-cell completeness that shapes nearly every method. A decision framework then matches common research questions to the method families best suited to answer them, from clonal mutations and chromatin state to immunophenotype and gene editing outcomes. The guide ends with practical adoption considerations, including bioinformatics maturity, sample format, and workflow fit. It also includes a feature reference table comparing 19 method families and 20 primary references from the peer-reviewed literature.