Mass spectrometric method incorporating enzymatic amplification for attomole-level analysis of target metabolites in biological samples

We report a sensitive method for selective detection of target metabolites from the central metabolic pathway by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS), in which the MS signal is enhanced by up to three orders of magnitude in the course of in situ enzymatic amplification

Carbon-13 labelling strategy for studying the ATP metabolism in individual yeast cells by micro-arrays for mass spectrometry

Isotopic labelling of cellular metabolites, used in conjunction with high-density micro-arrays for mass spectrometry enables observation of ATP metabolism in single yeast cells.

Single-cell lysis for visual analysis by electron microscopy.

The stochastic nature of biological systems makes the study of individual cells a necessity in systems biology. Yet, handling and disruption of single cells and the analysis of the relatively low concentrations of their protein components still challenges available techniques. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allows for the analysis of proteins at the single-molecule level. Here, we present a system for single-cell lysis under light microscopy observation, followed by rapid uptake of the cell lysate. Eukaryotic cells were grown on conductively coated glass slides and observed by light microscopy. A custom-designed microcapillary electrode was used to target and lyse individual cells with electrical pulses. Nanoliter volumes were subsequently aspirated into the microcapillary and dispensed onto an electron microscopy grid for TEM inspection. We show, that the cell lysis and preparation method conserves protein structures well and is suitable for visual analysis by TEM