Abstract
We report a high spatial resolution mass spectrometry (MS) system that allows us to image live hippocampal tissue slices under open-air atmospheric pressure (AP) and ambient temperature conditions at the subcellular level. The method is based on an efficient desorption process by femtosecond (fs) laser assisted with nanoparticles and a subsequent ionization step by applying nonthermal plasma, termed AP nanoparticle and plasma assisted laser desorption ionization (AP-nanoPALDI) MS method. Combining the AP-nanoPALDI with microscopic sample scanning, MS imaging with spatial resolution of 2.9 μm was obtained. The observed AP-nanoPALDI MS imaging clearly revealed the differences of molecular composition between the apical and basal dendrite regions of a hippocampal tissue. In addition, the AP-nanoPALDI MS imaging showed the decrease of cholesterol in hippocampus by treating with methyl β-cyclodextrin, which exemplifies the potential of AP-nanoPALDI for live tissue imaging for various biomedical applications without any chemical pretreatment and/or labeling process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2113 |
| Journal | Nature communications |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 Dec 1 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017 The Author(s).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy