Mass cytometry is a novel cell-by-cell analysis technique, which uses elemental tags instead of fluorophores. Sample cells undergo rapid ionization in inductively coupled plasma and the ionized elemental tags are then analyzed by means of time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Benefits of the mass cytometry approach are in no need for compensation, the high number of detection channels (up to 100) and low background noise. In this work, we applied a biotinylated aptamer against human PTK7 receptor for characterization of positive (human acute lymphoblastic leukemia) and negative (human Burkitt’s lymphoma) cells by a mass cytometry instrument. Our proof of principal experiments showed that biotinylated aptamers in conjunction with metal-labeled neutravidin can be successfully utilized for mass cytometry experiments at par with commercially available antibodies.

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质谱分析是一种新颖的逐细胞分析技术，它使用元素标签代替荧光团。样品池在感应耦合等离子体中快速电离，然后通过飞行时间质谱分析电离的元素标签。质谱分析法的好处是无需补偿，检测通道数量众多（最多100个）和低背景噪音。在这项工作中，我们应用了针对人PTK7受体的生物素化适体，通过质谱分析仪鉴定了阳性（人急性淋巴细胞白血病）和阴性（人Burkitt淋巴瘤）细胞。

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