Label-free single-cell protein quantification using a drop-based mix-and-read system.

Quantitative protein analysis of single cells is rarely achieved due to technical difficulties of detecting minute amounts of proteins present in one cell. We develop a mix-and-read assay for drop-based label-free protein analysis of single cells. This high-throughput method quantifies absolute, rather than relative, amounts of proteins and does not involve antibody labeling or mass spectrometry.