Single-cell studies can help to understand individual differences and obtain atypical cellular characteristics in view of cellular heterogeneity. Herein, the accumulation of mercury (Hg) in single algae cells was studied by droplet chip-time resolved inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analytical system, and the relation of Hg accumulation to the physiological responses of algae cell was explored. When low concentrations of Hg²⁺ (5–20 μg/L) were used in the exposure experiment, the content of Hg in single cells increased in first 2 h, then decreased with further increase of exposure time to 96 h, probably due to the growth dilution effect of the algae. When exposed to 30 μg/L Hg²⁺, the uptake of Hg by individual cells increased over time, which was associated with increased cell membrane permeability. The exposure to Hg²⁺ (5–30 μg/L) inhibited the growth of algae in a concentration-dependent manner and serious growth inhibition occurred under the exposure concentration of 30 μg/L. While the exposure concentration was lower than 20 μg/L, algal cells exhibited a recover tendency due to the self-protection mechanism of algal cells. Bivariate results showed that intracellular Hg accumulation was significantly negatively correlated with cells growth in terms of OD₆₈₀, photosynthetic pigments, F_v/F_m and PI_abs. On the contrast, reactive oxygen species content, superoxide dismutase activity, and cell membrane permeability were significantly positively correlated with the accumulation of intracellular Hg. These results are helpful to further understand the toxic effect of Hg on algae.

鉴于细胞异质性，单细胞研究有助于了解个体差异并获得非典型细胞特征。在此，通过液滴芯片时间分辨电感耦合等离子体质谱分析系统研究了单个藻类细胞中汞（Hg）的积累，并探讨了汞积累与藻类细胞生理反应的关系。在暴露实验中使用低浓度Hg ²⁺ (5~20 μg/L)时，单细胞Hg含量在前2 h增加，然后随着暴露时间的进一步增加至96 h而降低，这可能是由于藻类的生长稀释效应。当暴露于 30 μg/L Hg ²⁺，随着时间的推移，单个细胞对汞的吸收增加，这与细胞膜通透性增加有关。Hg ²⁺ (5~30 μg/L)暴露对藻类生长的抑制呈浓度依赖性，30 μg/L暴露浓度下出现严重的生长抑制。当暴露浓度低于20 μg/L时，由于藻细胞的自我保护机制，藻细胞表现出恢复趋势。双变量结果表明，细胞内 Hg 积累在 OD ₆₈₀、光合色素、F _v / F _m和PI _{abs方面与细胞生长显着负相关}. 相反，活性氧含量、超氧化物歧化酶活性和细胞膜通透性与细胞内汞的积累呈显着正相关。这些结果有助于进一步了解汞对藻类的毒性作用。