Advances in mass spectrometry-based single-cell metabolite analysis

Cells with near-identical genomic DNA sequences may exhibit differing phenotypes and carry out distinct physiological functions. Such cell-to-cell variability widely exists in different organisms but is poorly understood. Providing the most sensitive reflection of cellular phenotype, metabolomics at the single-cell level may enable us to uncover the hidden world beneath such cellular heterogeneity. However, the limited analyte amount and rapid turnover rate of single-cell metabolome impose a huge challenge to the metabolomic techniques. Over the past decade, the advances in mass spectrometry have played a crucial role in driving the progress of single-cell metabolite profiling. Herein, in this article we focus on the latest advances in mass spectrometry-based single-cell metabolite analysis, highlighting the technical innovations and their applications in biological studies.