Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: An Emerging Technology for Multiparametric Analysis of Tissue Antigens

New analytical techniques for multiparametric characterisation of individual cells are likely to reveal important information about the heterogeneity of immunological responses at the single-cell level. In this proof-of-principle study, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was applied to the problem of concurrently detecting 24 lineage and activation markers expressed by human leucocytes. This approach was sufficiently sensitive and specific to identify subpopulations of isolated T, B, and natural killer cells. Leucocyte subsets were also accurately detected within unfractionated peripheral blood mononuclear cells preparations. Accordingly, we judge LA-ICP-MS to be a suitable method for assessing expression of multiple tissue antigens in solid-phase biological specimens, such as tissue sections, cytospins, or cells grown on slides. These results augur well for future development of LA-ICP-MS–based bioimaging instruments for general users.