A platinum-based covalent viability reagent for single-cell mass cytometry.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Cell Biology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Flow cytometry traditionally uses fluorescent dyes to assess cell viability.
• Mass cytometry, a newer technique, uses elemental isotopes for higher parameter detection but lacks viability dyes.
• Existing viability dyes are incompatible with mass cytometry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for assessing cell viability in mass cytometry.
• To adapt the chemotherapy drug cisplatin as a viability dye for mass cytometry.
• To ensure the method is compatible with existing mass cytometry workflows.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cisplatin, a platinum-containing chemotherapy drug, as a viability marker.
• Applied a 1-minute incubation step for cisplatin labeling of nonviable cells.
• Quantified platinum signals using mass cytometry.
• Validated results against fluorescence-based cytometry.

Main Results:

• Cisplatin preferentially labeled nonviable cells in both adherent and suspension cultures within 1 minute.
• The platinum signal from cisplatin was quantifiable by mass cytometry.
• The live/dead cell ratios obtained with cisplatin were comparable to fluorescence-based methods.
• A short exposure to cisplatin did not induce DNA damage or apoptosis.

Conclusions:

• Cisplatin can serve as an effective viability reagent for mass cytometry.
• This method overcomes the limitations of fluorescent dyes in mass cytometry.
• The rapid, non-toxic application of cisplatin broadens its utility in cell analysis.