Protein is involved in almost all physiological activities of cells and it plays a vital role in cell activity. Single-cell protein research is essential to celluar heterogeneity. As an effective single-cell manipulation tool, droplet technology has made a revolutionary contribution to high-throughput single-cell protein analysis. The droplet technology can separate single-cell by precisely controlling droplet volume and avoids contamination. Moreover, the high-throughput feature of droplet technology allows it to analyze tens of thousands of single-cells within an hour. Droplet technology is highly automated and compatible, which is admired by single-cell protein analysis. In this paper, the development of droplet technology, including droplet formation theory, droplet formation methods, and droplet manipulation techniques was firstly summarized. Then, a detailed review of advanced droplet single-cell protein analysis was provided. Finally, the applications of droplet-based single-cell protein analysis in the fields of cancer diagnosis, and treatment, cell biology, and cell sorting were discussed.

蛋白质几乎参与了细胞的所有生理活动，在细胞活动中起着至关重要的作用。单细胞蛋白质研究对于细胞异质性至关重要。作为一种有效的单细胞操作工具，液滴技术为高通量单细胞蛋白质分析做出了革命性的贡献。液滴技术可以通过精确控制液滴体积来分离单细胞，避免污染。此外，液滴技术的高通量特性使其能够在一小时内分析数万个单细胞。Droplet 技术自动化程度高，兼容性强，为单细胞蛋白质分析所推崇。本文首先综述了液滴技术的发展，包括液滴形成理论、液滴形成方法和液滴操纵技术。然后，提供了先进的液滴单细胞蛋白质分析的详细评论。最后，讨论了基于液滴的单细胞蛋白质分析在癌症诊断和治疗、细胞生物学和细胞分选领域的应用。