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Laser ablation based bioimaging with simultaneous elemental and molecular mass spectrometry: towards spatially resolved speciation analysis
Author(s) -
Herdering Christina,
Wehe Christoph A.,
Reifschneider Olga,
Raj Indra,
Ciarimboli Giuliano,
Diebold Kurt,
Becker Christoph,
Sperling Michael,
Karst Uwe
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.6726
Subject(s) - chemistry , mass spectrometry , elemental analysis , analytical chemistry (journal) , laser ablation , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , laser , resolution (logic) , chromatography , optics , physics , organic chemistry , artificial intelligence , computer science
RATIONALE Biological functions of metals are not only specified by the element itself, but also by its chemical form and by its organ, cell and subcellular location. The developed laser ablation based setup enables spatially resolved analysis with simultaneous elemental and molecular mass spectrometry (MS) and promises therefore localization, identification and quantification of metal or heteroelement‐containing species in biological samples such as tissue sections. METHODS A UV laser ablation (LA) system is hyphenated in parallel both with an elemental and a molecular mass spectrometer via flow splitted transfer lines to simultaneously obtain data from both of the mass spectrometers. Elemental MS was performed using inductively coupled plasma (ICP)‐MS, whereas atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)‐MS with an orbitrap mass analyzer was utilized for molecular MS. RESULTS Simultaneous elemental and molecular MS imaging with high lateral resolution down to 25 µm was presented for the staining agents eosin Y and haematoxylin as well as for the chemotherapy drug cisplatin in thin tissue sections. For molecular MS, target compounds were identified by their exact masses and by characteristic fragment ions. CONCLUSIONS The first simultaneous elemental and molecular MS imaging approach based on laser ablation sampling was introduced for spatially resolved speciation analysis. The combination of the advantages of LA‐ICP‐MS such as low detection limits and high spatial resolution with information on the chemical identity promises not only localization of metals, but also identification of metal species in biological samples. Therefore, this novel technique opens up new possibilities to address complex challenges in life science research. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.