Taylor Michael J, Mattson Sara, Liyu Andrey, Stopka Sylwia A, Ibrahim Yehia M, Vertes Akos, Anderton Christopher R
Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Department of Chemistry, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Metabolites. 2021 Mar 27;11(4):200. doi: 10.3390/metabo11040200.
Single cell analysis is a field of increasing interest as new tools are continually being developed to understand intercellular differences within large cell populations. Laser-ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LAESI-MS) is an emerging technique for single cell metabolomics. Over the years, it has been validated that this ionization technique is advantageous for probing the molecular content of individual cells in situ. Here, we report the integration of a microscope into the optical train of the LAESI source to allow for visually informed ambient in situ single cell analysis. Additionally, we have coupled this 'LAESI microscope' to a drift-tube ion mobility mass spectrometer to enable separation of isobaric species and allow for the determination of ion collision cross sections in conjunction with accurate mass measurements. This combined information helps provide higher confidence for structural assignment of molecules ablated from single cells. Here, we show that this system enables the analysis of the metabolite content of epidermal cells with high confidence structural identification together with their spatial locations within a tissue.
随着不断开发新工具以了解大细胞群体中的细胞间差异，单细胞分析成为一个越来越受关注的领域。激光烧蚀电喷雾电离质谱（LAESI-MS）是一种新兴的单细胞代谢组学技术。多年来，已经证实这种电离技术有利于原位探测单个细胞的分子含量。在此，我们报告将显微镜集成到LAESI源的光学系统中，以实现基于视觉的环境原位单细胞分析。此外，我们已将这种“LAESI显微镜”与漂移管离子迁移率质谱仪联用，以实现等压物质的分离，并结合精确质量测量来确定离子碰撞截面。这些综合信息有助于为从单细胞烧蚀的分子的结构归属提供更高的可信度。在此，我们表明该系统能够对表皮细胞的代谢物含量进行高可信度的结构鉴定，并确定它们在组织内的空间位置。
