Next generation reagents for mass cytometry and imaging mass cytometry

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The purpose of this project is to develop better tools to help scientists in biology and the biomedical area study biological samples. Mass cytometry is a technology developed in Canada and manufactured by Fluidigm Canada in Markham ON that enables these scientists to measure and quantify many biomarkers simultaneously on cells and issue samples. Biomarkers are proteins and other biomolecules expressed on the surface of cells or inside the cells. They convey information about cell type, behavior and function as well as the disease state of a cell. Mass cytometry employs reagents based on antibodies labeled with heavy metal isotopes to detect proteins and other biomarkers expressed on individual cells. In mass cytometry, the cells are injected into the plasma torch of an atomic mass spectrometer, where the cells are vaporized, atomized and ionized to generate a cloud of the metal ions that were attached to each cell. These ions are then analyzed by mass spectrometry. Mass cytometry enables one to examine individual cells at high throughput (up to 1000 cells/sec). Its greatest strength is that it can simultaneously measure many more biomarkers per cell than flow cytometry, which employs fluorescent reagents. In current technology, one can measure ~50 biomarkers per cell at 500 to 1000 cells per second. We propose to create new reagents that will increase this number to more than 80 biomarkers per cell. To identify proteins expressed at very low levels, we will create a different set of reagents that will increase signal intensity by 10 to 100 times. This new technology will enhance our ability to study biological and disease processes, and may in the future enhance early diagnosis of disease.