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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
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Measuring Calpain Activity in Fixed and Living Cells by Flow Cytometry
Published on: July 8, 2010
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Tellurium-based mass cytometry barcode for live and fixed cells.
Lisa M Willis1, Hanuel Park1, Michael W L Watson2
1Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
Summary
A new thiol-reactive tellurium-based barcode, TeMal, offers a non-toxic and versatile method for sample preparation in mass cytometry. This technique enhances efficiency and reduces variation in biomarker analysis.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Mass cytometry enables high-dimensional analysis of >40 biomarkers at the single-cell level.
- Sample preparation techniques like barcoding are crucial for reducing processing time, variation, and reagent usage in mass cytometry.
- Existing barcoding methods have limitations in terms of toxicity, compatibility, or application flexibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, non-toxic, and versatile barcoding reagent for mass cytometry.
- To demonstrate the utility of the new reagent in analyzing cells from automated cell culture systems.
Main Methods:
- Development of a thiol-reactive tellurium-based barcode, named TeMal.
- Application of TeMal to live or fixed cells for barcoding.
- In situ barcoding of microscale samples from an automated cell culture system.
- Analysis of barcoded samples using mass cytometry.
Main Results:
- TeMal is non-toxic at working concentrations and compatible with metal-labeled antibodies.
- TeMal can be readily applied to both live and fixed cells.
- The utility of TeMal was demonstrated through successful barcoding and mass cytometry analysis of cells from an automated culture system.
Conclusions:
- TeMal is an advantageous and complementary barcoding reagent for mass cytometry.
- This new reagent simplifies sample preparation and enhances the efficiency of high-dimensional single-cell analysis.
- TeMal facilitates the analysis of cells from complex systems like automated cell cultures.
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