Question: Can RIN score be used for sample quality estimation before starting the Single Cell Multiome ATAC + GEX assay?
Answer: RIN score can be used to identify samples that are poor candidates for the Multiome assay. However a high RIN score is not sufficient for assay success.
The RIN score can be calculated from bulk RNA extracted from your tissue to determine RNA quality of a potential sample. A low RIN score could indicate RNA degradation thus making it challenging to get high quality gene expression data. However, a high RIN score is not a guarantee of success with the Multiome assay. RIN score does not provide insight into retention of chromatin structure and potential ATAC data quality (see My ATAC trace looks different, is it ok to proceed?), and a suspension of high quality nuclei quality is still required (see What are the best practices for nuclei isolation for Single Cell Multiome ATAC and Gene Expression?).
Products: Single Cell Multiome ATAC + GEX