Assessing the Potential of Metal-Assisted Imaging Mass Spectrometry in Cancer Research

In the last decade, imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) has been the primary tool for biomolecular imaging. While it is possible to map a wide range of biomolecules using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization IMS ranging from high-molecular-weight proteins to small metabolites, more often than not only the most abundant easily ionisable species are detected. To better understand complex diseases such as cancer more specific and sensitive methods need to be developed to enable the detection of lower abundance molecules but also molecules that have yet to be imaged by IMS. In recent years, a big shift has occurred in the imaging community from developing wide reaching methods to developing targeted ones which increases sensitivity through the use of more specific sample preparations. This has been primarily marked by the advent of solvent-free matrix deposition methods for polar lipids, chemical derivatization for hormones and metabolites, and the use of alternative ionization agents for neutral lipids. In this chapter, we discuss two of the latest sample preparations which exploit the use of alternative ionization agents to enable the detection of certain classes of neutral lipids along with free fatty acids by high-sensitivity IMS as demonstrated within our lab.