Mass Cytometry and Imaging Platform

Mission

Our Platform aims to:

• Offer Helios mass cytometry for in-depth single-cell proteomic analysis.
• Provide advanced imaging with the Hyperion Imaging System, enabling spatial proteomic profiling in tissues.
• Support users through, experimental design, sample acquisition, and data analysis.

Resources

The platform is equipped with:

Helios (CyTOF latest generation) for high-throughput single-cell mass cytometry.

This system uses time-of-flight technology. It enables researchers to analyze the expression of up to 50 distinct protein markers on individual cells. The process involves labeling cells with metal-conjugated antibodies and running them in suspension, similar to a flow cytometry workflow. Staining procedures are comparable to those used in flow cytometry, and the output is an FCS file that can be processed with usual flow cytometry analysis tools like FlowJo or computational algorithms in programming languages such as R.

Mass cytometry pipeline:

Hyperion Imaging System for simultaneous spatial and molecular analysis.

This system combines mass cytometry and imaging to deliver high-dimensional spatial proteomics. This advanced technology allows researchers to simultaneously analyze up to 40 protein markers within the context of tissue architecture. Tissue sections are stained with metal-conjugated antibodies, after which the Hyperion system ablates the sample with a laser to release the labeled regions for mass spectrometric analysis. The resulting data provide both spatial localization and quantitative expression levels, enabling detailed tissue microenvironment studies. Output files can be visualized using specialized software, such as MCD Viewer, and analyzed with computational approaches, for example, using R or Python, for in-depth insights.

Imaging mass cytometry pipeline: