Acetone immersion enhanced MALDI-MS imaging of small molecule metabolites in biological tissues

Publication date: Available online 1 August 2019Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical AnalysisAuthor(s): Chenglong Sun, Zhichao Li, Chunxia Ma, Qingce Zang, Jiangshuo Li, Wei Liu, Hengqiang Zhao, Xiao WangABSTRACTProfiling the endogenous tissue metabolites with spatial features is significant for our understanding of molecular histology, and provides an insightful way to uncover the complex associations between tissue metabolic response and external stimuli. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) is an effective molecular imaging technology to illustrate the spatial locations of molecules in tissue. However, due to the limited sensitivity and the presence of multiple matrix-related ions, it is still challenging to globally image the small molecule metabolites (SMMs) using MALDI, especially for those low-content functional ones. Here, a simple acetone washing method was developed to improve the sensitivity of MALDI-MS for imaging SMMs. After immersing in acetone and shaken for 15 min, key functional SMMs were well-visualized with significantly enhanced ion intensities. In addition to lipids, more than 160 SMM ions, including polyamines, cholines, carnitines, amino acids, nitrogenous bases, nucleosides, carbohydrates, organic acids, vitamins were imaged. The acetone washes-based MALDI-MSI was then applied to profile the metabolic alternations that occurred in osteosarcoma, and the abnormally altered SMMs and lipids were cl...
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research