Direct lipid profiling of single cells from inkjet printed microarrays

Anal Chem. 2012 Nov 20;84(22):9679-83. doi: 10.1021/ac302634u. Epub 2012 Nov 7.

Abstract

The on-demand printing of living cells using inkjet technologies has recently been demonstrated and allows for the controlled deposition of cells in microarrays. Here, we show that such arrays can be interrogated directly by robot-controlled liquid microextraction coupled with chip-based nanoelectospray mass spectrometry. Such automated analyses generate a profile of abundant membrane lipids that are characteristic of cell type. Significantly, the spatial control in both deposition and extraction steps combined with the sensitivity of the mass spectrometric detection allows for robust molecular profiling of individual cells.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bioprinting / instrumentation
  • Bioprinting / methods*
  • Cell Line
  • Ink*
  • Lipid Metabolism*
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Mice
  • Nanotechnology
  • Rats
  • Robotics
  • Single-Cell Analysis / instrumentation
  • Single-Cell Analysis / methods*
  • Tissue Array Analysis / instrumentation
  • Tissue Array Analysis / methods*