Abstract
Single-cell multiparameter measurement has been increasingly recognized as a key technology toward systematic understanding of complex molecular and cellular functions in biological systems. Despite extensive efforts in analytical techniques, it is still generally challenging for existing methods to decipher a large number of phenotypes in a single living cell. Herein we devise a super-multiplexed Raman probe panel with sharp and mutually resolvable Raman peaks to simultaneously quantify cell surface proteins, endocytosis activities, and metabolic dynamics of an individual live cell. When coupled it to whole-cell spontaneous Raman micro-spectroscopy, we demonstrate the utility of this technique in 14-plexed live-cell profiling and phenotyping under various drug perturbations. In particular, single-cell multiparameter measurement enables powerful clustering, correlation, and network analysis with biological insights. Being the highest Raman-based multiplexing technology of biological targets so far, this profiling platform is compatible with live cell cytometry, of low instrument complexity and capable of highly multiplexed measurement in a robust and straightforward manner, thereby contributing a valuable tool for both basic single-cell biology and translation applications such as high-content cell sorting and drug discovery.