Question: Can I use alternative third-party reagents for Xenium?
Answer: It is strongly recommended to use the third-party reagents validated by 10x Genomics and listed in the Xenium In Situ Gene Expression – Protocol Planner. Substituting untested third-party materials may adversely affect system performance. When the part numbers listed are not available, it may be possible to substitute additional reagents as low-risk alternatives as long as they are the meet the following criteria:
- Same molecular biology grade and chemical formulation
- Nuclease-free
- Same concentration and/or pH
Caution: Avoid alternative reagents that have ingredients/additives not found in the recommended products.
Here are some examples of reagents are considered to be low-risk to substitute:
- Water
- PBS, PBS-T
- TE (alternate examples here)
- Ethanol, methanol, isopropanol
- KCl
- SDS, Tween20*
- Sodium hydrosulfite
*Substituting 100% for 10% is not recommended.
Here are some examples of reagents are considered to be high-risk to substitute:
Xylene
We recommend using on the of the following reagents:
| Xylene, Reagent Grade | 214736 | Millipore Sigma |
| Xylene, Histological Grade | 534056 | Millipore Sigma |
| Neo-clear Xylene Alternative Substitute Millipore Sigma** | 1098435000 | Millipore Sigma |
**Can use Neo-clear for post-Xenium H&E Staining
Formaldehyde
We recommend using on the of the following validated reagents:
| Formaldehyde (37% by Weight/Molecular Biology) | BP531 | Thermo Fisher Scientific |
| Formaldehyde solution (37%) | 252549 | Millipore Sigma |
| Formaldehyde solution (36.5-38%) | F8775 | Millipore Sigma |
| Formaldehyde solution (≥36.0%) | 47608 | Millipore Sigma |
| Paraformaldehyde 16% Aqueous Solution, EM Grade | 15710 | Electron Microscopy Sciences |
Here are some examples of reagents are considered to be medium-risk to substitute:
| Dimethyl sulfoxide (molecular biology grade) | D8418-250ML | Millipore Sigma |
| Dimethyl sulfoxide (molecular biology grade) | D8418-1L | Millipore Sigma |
| Dimethyl sulfoxide, Fisher BioReagents (>99.7%) | BP231-1 | Fisher Scientific |
Alternatives to the part numbers or reagent swaps have not been tested in-house and therefore we cannot guarantee assay and instrument performance. Please reach out to support@10xgenomics.com if a validated reagent cannot be obtained.
Product: Xenium In Situ Gene Expression