Recent advances in microdroplet techniques for single-cell protein analysis

Abstract Protein is involved in almost all physiological activities of cells and it plays a vital role in cell activity. Single-cell protein research is essential to celluar heterogeneity. As an effective single-cell manipulation tool, droplet technology has made a revolutionary contribution to high-throughput single-cell protein analysis. The droplet technology can separate single-cell by precisely controlling droplet volume and avoids contamination. Moreover, the high-throughput feature of droplet technology allows it to analyze tens of thousands of single-cells within an hour. Droplet technology is highly automated and compatible, which is admired by single-cell protein analysis. In this paper, the development of droplet technology, including droplet formation theory, droplet formation methods, and droplet manipulation techniques was firstly summarized. Then, a detailed review of advanced droplet single-cell protein analysis was provided. Finally, the applications of droplet-based single-cell protein analysis in the fields of cancer diagnosis, and treatment, cell biology, and cell sorting were discussed.