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At least 361 records · Page 20

Proteomic Analysis of Single Mammalian Cells Enabled by Microfluidic Nanodroplet Sample Preparation and Ultrasensitive NanoLC-MS

We report on the quantitative proteomic analysis of single mammalian cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to deposit cells into a nanodroplet system for proteomic sample preparation. After processing, samples were analysed by ultrasensitive nanoLC-MS. Using this platform, an average of ~670 protein groups were identified from single HeLa cells and ~330 proteins were quantifiable. We demonstrated the single cell proteomics platform can be used to differentiate cell types from enzyme-dissociated primary cells from human lung and identify specific protein marker among them.

Zhu, Ying↗

Design and optimization of a fused-silica microfluidic device for separation of trivalent lanthanides by isotachophoresis

Abstract Elemental analysis of rare earths is essential in a variety of fields including environmental monitoring and nuclear safeguards; however, current techniques are often labor intensive, time consuming and/or costly to perform. The difficulty arises in preparing samples, which requires separating the very chemically and physically similar lanthanides. However, by transitioning these separations to the microscale, the speed, cost, and simplicity of sample preparation can be drastically reduced. Here, all fourteen non radioactive lanthanides (lanthanum through lutetium minus promethium) are separated by ITP in a serpentine fused silica microchannel in < 10 minutes with limits of detection on the order of picomoles. Electrophoretic electrodes are embedded in the microchip reservoirs so that voltage can be quickly applied and switched during operation. The limits of detection are quantified using a commercial C4D to calculate ITP zone lengths in combination with ITP theory. Optimization of experimental procedures and reproducibility based on statistical analysis of subsequent experimental results are addressed.

Bottenus, Daniel R.↗

Effects of shear-thinning fluids on residual oil formation in microfluidic pore networks

Two-phase immiscible displacement in porous media is controlled by capillary and viscous forces when gravitational effects are negligible. The relative importance of these forces is quantified through the dimensionless capillary number Ca and the viscosity ratio M between fluid phases. When the displacing fluid is Newtonian, the effects of Ca and M on the displacement patterns can be evaluated independently. However, when the injecting fluids exhibit shear-thinning viscosity behaviour the values of M and Ca are interdependent. Under these conditions, the effects on phase entrapment and the general displacement dynamics cannot be dissociated. In the particular case of shear-thinning aqueous polymer solutions, the degree of interdependence between M and Ca is determined by the polymer concentration. In this work, two-phase immiscible displacement experiments were performed in micromodels, using shear-thinning aqueous polymer solutions as displacing fluids, to investigate the effect of polymer concentration on the relationship between Ca and M, the recovery efficiency, and the size distribution of the trapped non-wetting fluid. Our results show that the differences in terms of magnitude and distribution of the trapped phase are related to the polymer concentration which influences the values of Ca and M.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Spatially Resolved Top-Down Proteomics of Tissue Sections Based on a Microfluidic Nanodroplet Sample Preparation Platform

Conventional proteomics measures the averaged signal from mixed cell populations or bulk tissues, leading to the dilution of significant changes in subpopulations of cells that might serve as important biomarkers. Recent developments in bottom-up proteomics have enabled spatial mapping of cellular heterogeneity in tissue microenvironments. However, bottom-up proteomics cannot precisely infer the abundance changes of intact proteins, which are presented as proteoforms. Herein, we described a spatially resolved top-down proteomics (TDP) platform for proteoform identification and quantification directly on thin tissue sections. The spatial TDP platform consisted of a nanoPOTS (nanodroplet Processing in One pot for Trace Samples)-based sample preparation system and an LCM (laser capture microdissection)-based cell isolation system. We improved the nanoPOTS sample preparation by adding benzonase in the extraction buffer to enhance the coverage of nucleus proteins. Using ~200 cultured cells as model samples, the improved approach increased proteoform identifications from 493 to 700; newly identified proteoforms primarily corresponded to nuclear proteins. To demonstrate the spatial TDP platform in tissue samples, we analyzed LCM-isolated tissue voxels from rat brain cortex and hypothalamus regions. We quantified 426 proteoforms by combining identifications from TopPIC and TDPortal with the quantitation from ProMex. Several proteoforms corresponding to the same gene exhibited mixed abundance profiles between two tissue regions, suggesting potential PTM-specific spatial distributions. The spatial TDP workflow has prospects for biomarker discovery at proteoform level from small tissue sections.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗