title: Sampling techniques for single-cell electrophoresis.
abstract: Cells are extraordinarily complex, containing thousands of different analytes with concentrations spanning at least nine orders of magnitude. Analyzing single cells instead of tissue homogenates provides unique insights into cell-to-cell heterogeneity and aids in distinguishing normal cells from pathological ones. The high sensitivity and low sample consumption of capillary and on-chip electrophoresis, when integrated with fluorescence, electrochemical, and mass spectrometric detection methods, offer an ideal toolset for examining single cells and even subcellular organelles; however, the isolation and loading of such small samples into these devices is challenging. Recent advances have addressed this issue by interfacing a variety of enhanced mechanical, microfluidic, and optical sampling techniques to capillary and on-chip electrophoresis instruments for single-cell analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cecala
authors.forename: Jonathan V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Sweedler
mesh_terms: D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence