Mass Cytometry

Change the way you process cells to get reliably consistent data

How Curiox Can Help

  • Reduce debris background and artifacts
  • Improve resolution
  • Achieve less data variation

Learn more 

Mass cytometry, also known as CyTOF (Cytometry by Time-Of-Flight) combines the principles of flow cytometry with mass spectrometry to analyze the physical and chemical properties of cells.

Mass cytometry supports:
  • High-dimensional analysis. Simultaneously measures over 40 different parameters (proteins, signaling molecules) on individual cells
  • Metal isotope labeling. Uses heavy metal isotopes attached to antibodies instead of fluorophores, reducing spectral overlap and increasing the number of detectable markers
  • Single-cell resolution. Provides detailed data at the single-cell level, enabling precise characterization of cell populations and states
  • High sensitivity and specificity. Metal isotopes offer higher sensitivity and specificity compared to traditional fluorescent markers

When performing mass cytometry experiments, the first step is sample preparation where cells are stained with antibodies conjugated to metal isotopes. The stained cells are then introduced into an inductively coupled plasma (ICP), where they are ionized. Next, the ions are separated and quantified based on their mass-to-charge ratio using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Finally, the resulting data is analyzed to determine the abundance of each metal isotope corresponding to the presence of specific cell surface or intracellular markers.

Benefits of mass cytometry include its multiplexing capability allowing for the analysis of many markers simultaneously without significant spectral overlap. It can provide deep insights into cellular functions and interactions, and it yields enhanced data quality with higher resolution and less background noise than traditional flow cytometry. You will most often find mass cytometry in an institution’s core facility; where they perform assay services or purchase instruments for clients to use.

How Curiox Can Help

Curiox Laminar Wash technology helps to reduce debris background, artifacts and clumping while helping to enhance cell retention in mass cytometry sample preparation. This technology also helps improve resolution, lower the CVs of data, and helps you achieve less data variation between samples with its gentle washing process. 

Laminar Wash was instrumental to our work, focusing on sample preparation and our needs for cell retention strategies. We work a lot on “Cell Sparing Strategies” that focuses on rare cell types that need to be captured over long and expensive staining protocols.
Herve Luche, PhD
CIPHE

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Benefits of Using the Curiox Laminar Wash System in Mass Cytometry Experiments