- Research Briefing
- Published:
Subjects
Current single-cell metabolomics methods show low sensitivity and limited coverage of small-molecule metabolites. We developed an ion mobility-resolved mass cytometry technology that incorporates selective ion accumulation and cell superposition strategies to deliver high sensitivity and deep coverage, which captured over 5,000 metabolic peaks and about 800 metabolites from individual cells in a high-throughput manner.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
-
Zenobi, R. Single-cell metabolomics: analytical and biological perspectives. Science 342, 1243259 (2013). This review presents analytical challenges in single-cell metabolomics.
-
Lanekoff, I., Sharma, V. V. & Marques, C. Single-cell metabolomics: where are we and where are we going?. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 75, 102693 (2022). This review presents recent developments in single-cell metabolomics.
-
Yao, H. et al. Label-free mass cytometry for unveiling cellular metabolic heterogeneity. Anal. Chem. 91, 9777–9783 (2019). This paper reports a label-free mass cytometry method for single-cell metabolomics.
-
Du, M. et al. A tandem cytometry platform for single-cell analysis of protein and metabolites. Anal. Chem. 97, 6962–6966 (2025). This paper reports a platform that integrates fluorescence flow cytometry with organic mass spectrometry cytometry.
-
Xu, S. et al. Multi-dimensional organic mass cytometry: simultaneous analysis of proteins and metabolites on single cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60, 1806–1812 (2021). This paper reports an organic mass cytometry platform integrated with antibody-based mass tags, for the simultaneous detection of single-cell surface proteins and metabolites.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Luo, M. et al. Deep-coverage single-cell metabolomics enabled by ion mobility-resolved mass cytometry. Nat. Methods https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02970-2 (2026).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deep-coverage, high-throughput single-cell metabolomics. Nat Methods (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02976-w
-
Published:
-
Version of record:
-
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02976-w
