Ambient Metabolic Profiling and Imaging of Biological Samples with Ultrahigh Molecular Resolution Using Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization 21 Tesla FTICR Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Mass spectrometry (MS) is an indispensable analytical tool to capture the array of metabolites within complex biological systems. However, conventional MS-based metabolomic workflows require extensive sample processing and separation resulting in limited throughput and potential alteration of the native molecular states in these systems. Ambient ionization methods, capable of sampling directly from tissues, circumvent some of these issues but require high-performance MS to resolve the molecular complexity within these samples. Here, we demonstrate a unique combination of laser ablation electrospray ionization (LAESI) coupled with a 21 tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (21T-FTICR) for direct MS analysis and imaging applications. This analytical platform provides isotopic fine structure information directly from biological tissues, enabling the rapid assignment of molecular formulas and delivering a higher degree of confidence for molecular identification.

msiPL: Non-linear Manifold and Peak Learning of Mass Spectrometry Imaging Data Using Artificial Neural Networks

“…However, the local maxima approximation applied to the FT ICR MSI data could be avoided in future developments through, for example, investigating an integrated multi-spectral scale neural network architecture. Such future work would allow to cope with even more complex spectral data such as those acquired by ultrahigh resolution FT ICR MSI instruments 61 . Future developments may also consider another level of spectral complexity such that provided by the collision cross section property of the trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) based technology which holds promise for higher accurate molecular identification 62,63 .…”

Single Cell Metabolomics: A Future Tool to Unmask Cellular Heterogeneity and Virus-Host Interaction in Context of Emerging Viral Diseases

“…LAESI-MS coupled with ion mobility separation (IMS) has been described as capable of direct profiling and imaging of several biomolecules including metabolites from biological tissues and single cells (Etalo et al, 2018;Paglia and Astarita, 2020). LAESI coupled with a 21 tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (21T-FTICR) has capable of elucidating isotopic fine structure of the biomolecules by direct MS analysis and imaging (Stopka et al, 2019).…”

A:Recent advances in ambient electrospray ionization technologies

“…LAESI was used for confident identification of biomolecules directly from intact biological samples such as soybean seeds, mouse kidneys, and common coleus leaves [Stopka et al, 2019]. The ionization method was coupled to a 21 tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer for increased mass resolution a decreased matrix interferences.…”