RESUMEN
The chemical components analysis of single cell is important for understanding of physiological processes such as cell growth, signal transduction and apoptosis.Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry ( ToF-SIMS) is a sensitive surface analysis technique with high spatial resolution and can be used for single cell and micro-area analysis.However, relatively low ioniZation yield of biomolecules limited its wide application in single cell analysis.Herein, we used metal substrate and matrix material to enhance the ioniZation yield of lipids.The signal intensity of the phosphatidylcholine PC (40:0) casted on the matrix/gold coated silicon substrate was 65 times higher than that on the silicon wafer.Signal enhancement of phosphatidylcholine PC (34:1) on the single cell surface cultured on matrix/gold coated silicon substrate was observed as well.Due to the influence of irregular topography and complex chemical environment of cell, the increase of lipids signal was smaller.Delayed extraction mode of ToF-SIMS overcame the effects of cell topography, leading to further enhancement of the signal intensity of lipids.Meanwhile, simultaneous high spatial resolution of chemical imaging and high mass resolution of the mass spectra of single cells were obtained.Our strategies provided new insights into the study of cell metabolism and cell-environment interactions.