“The technology allows the scientist to take molecular pictures of proteins in biopsy tissue taken from patients with a variety of diseases”

The technology highlighted brings a new dimension to molecular analysis of tissues, allowing large molecules such as proteins to be imaged on tissue surfaces. One can produce, from a simple raster of the laser on the tissue, hundreds of molecularly specific images with spatial resolution in the low-micron range. The technology is a superb discovery tool, enabling molecular spatial analysis and relative quantitation without the use of antibodies or other chemical recognition agents.

The technology involves modification of existing mass spectrometry instrumentation, MALDI MS, along with sample preparation protocols specifically created for tissue section analysis. Therefore, those who have the basic instrumentation can install, relatively inexpensively, the required modifications and obtain software to perform imaging. Our version of this software is available as freeware for those using similar instruments. The applicability is very wide, basically encompassing.

The technology allows the scientist to take molecular pictures of proteins in biopsy tissue taken from patients with a variety of diseases. This is important in helping identify the disease, determining how advanced and how aggressive the disease is, and helping the clinician assess the correct treatment for that individual patient’s needs.

In my interest in protein distribution in both normal and diseased tissue, there was a critical need for new ways to observe molecular events in tissues that were molecularly specific and at the same time measured many hundreds of proteins simultaneously. Mass spectrometry was clearly the best candidate technology to do this.