The ability to introduce single cells into an ICPMS and measure the elemental content in each cell, or tagged to each cell, accurately takes a dedicated, well-designed sample introduction system. Having this ability allows for investigators to better understand how much of a specific nanoparticle, metallodrug, or metal-based compound enters the cell. These cells or nanoparticles will vary in size from a few nm’s up to a few 100 μm’s. The typical cell types of interest will vary and with that the stability of the cell-line also varies, such that a gentle, controlled nebulization must be employed in order to not disrupt or lyse the cell.
Complete system includes:One sample was prepared with 100,000 Ta-tagged cells/mL solution.
Replicate measurements were taken from the same sample to produce this plot.
Transport efficiency for this example: 83.4%
PBMC Ta-tagged cell size: ~ 7.5 μm
Ten 50 nm Au NPs solutions were prepared and analyzed over an 8 day period.
Data points represent average value for each sample over the 8 day period.
Error bars represent ± 1 SD over the 8 days.
Typical transport efficiency: 80-100%