Development of Visible-Wavelength MALDI Cell Mass Spectrometry for High-Efficiency Single-Cell Analysis

Mass is a fundamental physical property of an individual cell, from which is revealed the cell growth, cycle, and activity. Taking advantage of cell mass spectrometry (CMS), accurate mass measurement of a charged single cell has been achieved. However, with the increasing demand for high-efficiency single-cell analysis in biology, the limited throughput and inefficient cell desorption/ionization of the CMS inevitably become important issues. To address the challenge, a state of the art visible-wavelength matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) CMS was developed. The employed transmission mode laser ablation and fast evaporation sample preparation enabled the visible-wavelength MALDI to be soft enough and to generate intact charged cells for mass measurement. By using resorufin as matrix, ten sorts of cells, viz., red blood cells (RBCs), Jurkat (JK), CCRF-CEM, SNU-5, BGC-803, MCF-7, L-O2, 293T, Hep G2, and A549 cells, have been successfully analyzed. It was found that the desorption/ionization efficiency of visible-wavelength MALDI was at least 3-fold higher than that of conventional laser-induced acoustic desorption (LIAD) and relevant to the suspension/adherent property of analyzed cells. Based on the measured mass, different cell types in either the individual or mixed state can be differentiated successfully.