Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2010 Nov;398(6):2493-504. doi: 10.1007/s00216-010-3850-1. Epub 2010 Jun 11.
Single-cell metabolomics is an emerging field that addresses fundamental biological questions and allows one to observe metabolic phenomena in heterogeneous populations of single cells. In this review, we assess the suitability of different detection techniques and present considerations on sample preparation for single-cell metabolomics. Although targeted analysis of single cells can readily be conducted using fluorescent probes and optical instruments (microscopes, fluorescence detectors), a comprehensive metabolomic approach requires a powerful label-free method, such as mass spectrometry (MS). Mass-spectrometric techniques applied to study small molecules in single cells include electrospray MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization MS, and secondary ion MS. Sample preparation is an important aspect to be taken into account during further development of methods for single-cell metabolomics.
单细胞代谢组学是一个新兴领域，它可以解决基础生物学问题，并使人们能够观察到单细胞异质群体中的代谢现象。在这篇综述中，我们评估了不同检测技术的适用性，并提出了单细胞代谢组学中样品制备的注意事项。尽管使用荧光探针和光学仪器（显微镜、荧光探测器）可以很容易地对单细胞进行靶向分析，但全面的代谢组学方法需要一种强大的无标记方法，如质谱（MS）。应用于单细胞中小分子研究的质谱技术包括电喷雾质谱、基质辅助激光解吸/电离质谱和二次离子质谱。在单细胞代谢组学方法的进一步发展过程中，样品制备是一个需要考虑的重要方面。
