Protocols for singe-cell proteomics

This section organizes protocols for preparing LC-MS/MS systems for single-cell proteomic analysis, preparing single-cell samples, optimizing and performing the analysis.

• Preparing LC-MS/MS systems
• Preparing single-cell samples
• Optimizing and benchmarking LC-MS/MS analysis

Preparing LC-MS/MS systems

The liquid chromatography system and the mass spectrometer need to be optimized for analyzing tiny protein samples to a state described here as single-cell ready. This preparation can be accomplished using bulk samples diluted to single-cell levels. The preparation has been described in multiple protocols, including by Petelski et al., Nature Protocols.

Achieving single-cell readiness is also discussed in workshops of the Single Cell Proteomics Conference.

Preparing single-cell samples

Preparing single cells for mass spectrometry protein analysis Ames to maximize protein delivery to the detectors while at the same time minimizing contaminations. These objectives are challenging, especially when we would like to prepare and analyze tens of thousands of single cells. A high-throughput sample preparation has been described by Leduc et al., Geneome Biology.

Optimizing and benchmarking LC-MS/MS analysis

Our protocols for optimizing peptide separation and tandem mass spectrometry analysis include data driven pipelines named DO-MS. These protocols and the associated software tools are available at: do-ms.slavovlab.net. DO-MS allows to optimization of duty cycle methods, peptide separation, number of survey scans per duty cycle, and quality control of single-cell data acquisition for DDA and DIA methods.