Cells, basic units of living structures and functions, build up a complicated small world, and their order and complexity resemble a small universe. The detailed understanding and elucidation of the matter transport and energy conversion mechanisms within a single cell will expand our knowledge about the origin and evolution of life, the disease mechanisms and much more. In past decades, single-cell analysis has been rapidly and significantly improved and various methodologies have been developed to reveal the complexity of mass, energy, and information within single cells. In this review, we focused on the methods developed in recent years for single-cell analysis, including electrochemical method, optical method, and mass spectrometry method. We reviewed the recent advances and representative studies in this research field, and also discussed the strengths and limitations of each method. Finally, we presented the existing technical challenges and further directions for single-cell analysis.

细胞是生活结构和功能的基本单位，构成了一个复杂的小世界，其秩序和复杂性就像一个小宇宙。对单个细胞内物质传输和能量转换机制的详细理解和阐明，将扩大我们对生命起源和进化，疾病机制等的认识。在过去的几十年中，单细胞分析得到了迅速而显着的改善，并且已经开发出各种方法来揭示单细胞内质量，能量和信息的复杂性。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了近年来开发的用于单细胞分析的方法，包括电化学方法，光学方法和质谱法。我们回顾了该研究领域的最新进展和代表性研究，并讨论了每种方法的优点和局限性。最后，我们介绍了现有技术挑战以及单细胞分析的进一步方向。