Analytical Sciences

Quantitative Live Single-cell Mass Spectrometry with Spatial Evaluation by Three-Dimensional Holographic and Tomographic Laser Microscopy

Ahmed ALI,*,** Yasmine ABOULEILA,*,** Sara AMER,*,** Rie FURUSHIMA,* Samy EMARA,** Sebastien EQUIS,*** Yann COTTE,*** and Tsutomu MASUJIMA*

*Quantitative Biology Center (QBiC), RIKEN, 6-2-3 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
**Faculty of Pharmacy, Misr International University, Km28 Ismailia Road, Cairo, Egypt
***Nanolive SA, Chemin de la Dent d’Oche 1a, Lausanne 1024, Switzerland

The locations and volumes of the contents of a single HepG2 cell were visualized under three-dimensional (3D) holographic and tomographic (HT) laser microscopy, colored by refractive index, not staining. After trapping the specific area of a target cell in a nanospray tip, quantification was performed by live single-cell mass spectrometry. Comparison of the HepG2 cells’ before and after 3D-HT images allowed the inference of the precise volume and original location of the trapped cell contents. The total amount of a trapped molecule was estimated. The images also revealed morphological changes in the cell structure caused by the manipulation.

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