Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Full course description
Mass spectrometry is a versatile analytical tool with applications in many scientific disciplines. It can ionise molecules from various sample classes, separate these ions and their fragment ions according to their specific mass-to-charge ratio (m/z), and finally record the relative abundance of each ion type that reaches the detector. Mass spectrometry thus enables the qualitative and quantitative analysis of thousands of molecular compounds in a single experiment without the need for labelling and is particularly powerful for the structural identification of unknown compounds. These compounds include basic chemicals, small molecules and also large polymers. In the biosciences, it can be used to detect drugs, exogenous and endogenous metabolites, lipids, peptides, proteins and other (bio)polymers. In particular, mass spectrometry imaging is an innovative and dynamic methodology that can not only detect molecules label-free but also visualise their spatial distribution in 2D and 3D with high resolution. Therefore, it is increasingly used in various disciplines in both academia and industry. In this course, you will be trained as highly skilled scientists to innovate and apply MS based imaging to scientific research ranging from healthcare, performance materials, agro/food science, and semiconductor technology. This will be a highly desired skill set in future careers at research institutes, medical university centres, biomedical companies, etc.
Course objectives
After completing this course, you are able to:
- Explain basic principles of mass spectrometry (imaging) such as mass resolution and lateral / spatial resolution;
- Understand the fundamentals behind the design of various mass analysers such as underlying ionization techniques, mass analysers and detectors. In addition, you will learn to assess which design fits certain imaging scenarios best;
- Distinguish the different methodologies for the structural characterization of biologically and chemically relevant molecules;
- Design protocols and experiments, and make a plan for the application of biomedical imaging to different research questions;
- Prepare calibration & response curves to test and tune performance for a variety of mass spectrometers;
- Handle samples for MS imaging of human/animal tissue or biomedical materials;
- Interpret, process and manage MS data originating from imaging, ion mobility spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry experiments with help of advanced statistical and data processing software;
- Work in a team and be able to convey scientific results to both experts and the public.
Recommended reading
- Mass spectrometric imaging for biomedical tissue analysis. Chughtai K, Heeren RM. Chem Rev. 2010 May 12;110(5):3237-77. doi: 10.1021/cr100012c. PMID: 20423155
- Going forward: Increasing the accessibility of imaging mass spectrometry. McDonnell LA, Heeren RMA, Andrén PE, Stoeckli M, Corthals GL. J Proteomics. 2012 Aug 30;75(16):5113-5121. doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2012.05.016. PMID: 22634082
- Analysis of tissue specimens by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry in biological and clinical research. Norris JL, Caprioli RM. Chem Rev. 2013 Apr 10;113(4):2309-42. doi: 10.1021/cr3004295. PMID: 23394164
- Reshaping Lipid Biochemistry by Pushing Barriers in Structural Lipidomics. Porta Siegel T, Ekroos K, Ellis SR. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 May 13;58(20):6492-6501. doi: 10.1002/anie.201812698. PMID: 30601602
- Multimodal Imaging Based on Vibrational Spectroscopies and Mass Spectrometry Imaging Applied to Biological Tissue: A Multiscale and Multiomics Review. Tuck M, Blanc L, Touti R, Patterson NH, Van Nuffel S, Villette S, Taveau JC, Römpp A, Brunelle A, Lecomte S, Desbenoit N. Anal Chem. 2021, 93, 1, 445–477.