Mass Cytometry

Mass cytometry, or cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF), is a recently established technique that analyzes each single cell multiparametrically through multiple metal-tagged cellular markers with minimal overlap of signals, which overcomes the dimensional limitation of flow cytometry-based research about phenotyping and immune profiling of human immune systems.

This technology detects antibodies tagged with lanthanide metal isotope ions (with atomic weights ranging from 75 to 209) to examine ~50 markers (including surface or intracellular proteins) intended for detection simultaneously at a single-cell resolution. As such, high-dimensional technology enables a more comprehensive understanding of immune responses, and several clinical studies are currently underway for exploring immune responses against diseases associated with PBMC or bone marrow. This novel technological platform provide potential applications in several areas of biomedical research, such as deep phenotyping of heterogeneous cells, mapping of cell differentiation, and disease progression to generate high-resolution profiles of the cell cycle, studying differential cytokine expression, and studying signaling response.