title: Single-cell elemental analysis via high irradiance femtosecond laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: In modern bioanalytics, elemental analysis of single cells is important yet challenging due to the complicated biological matrices and elemental contents. We have developed the high irradiance femtosecond laser ionization orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry (fs-LI-O-TOFMS) to determine the elemental composition of individual cells. The sample preparation procedure is simple and fast through heating and drying the cells. Under typical operating conditions, elements above femtogram levels in a single cell can be clearly observed in the spectrum with reasonable isotope ratios. Some of the nonmetallic elements that are difficult to measure by ICPMS, such as P, S, and Cl, can be easily determined by fs-LI-O-TOFMS. Replicate analyses show that signal variations are 15-35% for metallic elements and 25-50% for nonmetallic elements. The results demonstrate that fs-LI-O-TOFMS is a simple, rapid, and practical tool for the elemental determination of single cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Analytical Sciences, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Bochao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dongxuan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Miaohong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.forename: Benli
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D007834:Lasers; D010247:Paramecium / Q000166:cytology*; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation; D013997:Time Factors