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Sample Preparation for Metabolite Detection in Mass Spectrometry Imaging

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Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2688))

Abstract

Metabolites reflect the biological state of cells and tissue, and metabolomics is therefore a field of high interest both to understand normal physiological functions and disease development. When studying heterogeneous tissue samples, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a valuable tool as it conserves the spatial distribution of analytes on tissue sections. A large proportion of metabolites are, however, small and polar, making them vulnerable to delocalizing through diffusion during sample preparation. Here we present a sample preparation method optimized to limit diffusion and delocalization of small polar metabolites in fresh frozen tissue sections. This sample preparation protocol includes cryosectioning, vacuum frozen storage, and matrix application. The methods described were primely developed for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) MSI, but the protocol describing cryosectioning and vacuum freezing storage can also be applied before desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) MSI. Our vacuum drying and vacuum packing approach offers a particular advantage to limit delocalization and safe storage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Maria K. Andersen, Elise Midtbust, Therese S. Høiem, Sebastian Krossa & May-Britt Tessem

  2. Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Marco Giampà

  3. Clinic of Surgery, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Elise Midtbust & May-Britt Tessem

Authors
  1. Maria K. Andersen
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  2. Marco Giampà
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  3. Elise Midtbust
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  4. Therese S. Høiem
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  5. Sebastian Krossa
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  6. May-Britt Tessem
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria K. Andersen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    Laura M Cole

  2. Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    Malcolm R Clench

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Andersen, M.K., Giampà, M., Midtbust, E., Høiem, T.S., Krossa, S., Tessem, MB. (2023). Sample Preparation for Metabolite Detection in Mass Spectrometry Imaging. In: Cole, L.M., Clench, M.R. (eds) Imaging Mass Spectrometry. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2688. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3319-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3319-9_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3318-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3319-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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