德国明斯特大学的K. Dreisewerd研究组开发出可用于亚细胞分辨率细胞与组织成像的透射模式MALDI-2质谱成像技术。2019年8月26日，《自然—方法学》在线发表了这一成果。

据了解，透射模式几何中的基质辅助激光解吸质谱成像（t-MALDIMSI）可以提供像素尺寸为1m或更小的分子信息，使得这种无标记方法非常适用于在亚细胞水平表征组织和细胞的化学成分。然而，该技术广泛使用的主要障碍，是在小像素尺寸下离子丰度会降低。

研究人员通过使用激光诱导后电离（MALDI-2）和使t-MALDI-2离子源适应Orbitrap质量分析器来缓解这个问题。通过观察小鼠小脑和肾切片以及培养的Vero B4细胞中大量磷酸化和糖脂的分布，研究人员证明了这种组合所取得的敏感性和准确性提升。使用脑组织，研究人员得到了600nm的像素尺寸。这个方法可以成为细胞生物学和生物医学研究中有价值的新工具。

附：英文原文

Title: Transmission-mode MALDI-2 mass spectrometry imaging of cells and tissues at subcellular resolution

Author: M. Niehaus, J. Soltwisch, M. E. Belov, K. Dreisewerd

Issue&Volume: 2019-08-26

Abstract: Matrix-assisted laser desorptionionization mass spectrometry imaging in transmission-mode geometry (t-MALDIMSI) can provide molecular information with a pixel size of 1m and smaller, which makes this label-free method highly interesting for characterizing the chemical composition of tissues and cells on a (sub)cellular level. However, a major hindrance for wider use of the technology is the reduced ion abundance at small pixel sizes. Here we mitigate this problem by use of laser-induced post-ionization (MALDI-2) and by adapting a t-MALDI-2 ion source to an Orbitrap mass analyzer. We demonstrate the crucial sensitivity and accuracy boosts that are achieved with this combination by visualizing the distribution of numerous phospho- and glycolipids in mouse cerebellum and kidney slices, and in cultured Vero B4 cells. With brain tissue, a pixel size of 600nm was achieved. Our method could constitute a valuable new tool for research in cell biology and biomedicine.

DOI: 10.1038/s41592-019-0536-2

Source:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-019-0536-2