Human physiology and pathology arise from the coordinated interactions of diverse single cells. However, analyzing single cells has been limited by the low sensitivity and throughput of analytical methods. DNA sequencing has recently made such analysis feasible for nucleic acids but single-cell protein analysis remains limited. Mass spectrometry is the most powerful method for protein analysis, but its application to single cells faces three major challenges: efficiently delivering proteins/peptides to mass spectrometry detectors, identifying their sequences, and scaling the analysis to many thousands of single cells. These challenges have motivated corresponding solutions, including SCoPE design multiplexing and clean, automated, and miniaturized sample preparation. Synergistically applied, these solutions enable quantifying thousands of proteins across many single cells and establish a solid foundation for further advances. Building upon this foundation, the SCoPE concept will enable analyzing subcellular organelles and posttranslational modifications, while increases in multiplexing capabilities will increase the throughput and decrease cost.

人类生理学和病理学源于不同单细胞的协调相互作用。然而，分析单细胞受到分析方法的低灵敏度和通量的限制。DNA 测序最近使这种核酸分析变得可行，但单细胞蛋白质分析仍然有限。质谱法是蛋白质分析最强大的方法，但其在单细胞中的应用面临三大挑战：有效地将蛋白质/肽传递到质谱检测器、识别它们的序列以及将分析扩展到数千个单细胞。这些挑战激发了相应的解决方案，包括 SCoPE 设计多路复用以及清洁、自动化和小型化的样品制备。协同应用，这些解决方案能够量化许多单细胞中的数千种蛋白质，并为进一步发展奠定坚实的基础。在此基础上，SCoPE 概念将能够分析亚细胞细胞器和翻译后修饰，而多路复用能力的增加将增加通量并降低成本。