Issue 18, 2017

A pneumatically assisted nanospray desorption electrospray ionization source for increased solvent versatility and enhanced metabolite detection from tissue

Abstract

Nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano-DESI) has been established as a powerful technique for mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of biomolecules from tissue samples. The direct liquid extraction of analytes from a surface at ambient pressure negates the need for significant sample preparation or matrix application. Although many recent studies have applied nano-DESI to new and exciting applications, there has not been much work in the development and improvement of the nano-DESI source. Here, we incorporate a nebulizer to replace the self-aspirating secondary capillary in the conventional nano-DESI setup, and characterize the device by use of rat kidney tissue sections. We find that the pneumatically assisted nano-DESI device offers improved sensitivity for metabolite species by 1–3 orders of magnitude through more complete desolvation and reduced ionization suppression. Further, the pneumatically assisted nano-DESI device reduces the dependence on probe-to-surface distance and enables sampling and imaging using pure water as the nano-DESI solvent. This provides exclusive detection and imaging of many highly polar endogenous species. Overall, the developed pneumatically assisted nano-DESI device provides more versatile solvent selection and an increased sensitivity for metabolites, which generates ion images of higher contrast – allowing for more intricate studies of metabolite distribution.

Graphical abstract: A pneumatically assisted nanospray desorption electrospray ionization source for increased solvent versatility and enhanced metabolite detection from tissue

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Jun 2017
Accepted
10 Aug 2017
First published
15 Aug 2017

Analyst, 2017,142, 3424-3431

A pneumatically assisted nanospray desorption electrospray ionization source for increased solvent versatility and enhanced metabolite detection from tissue

K. D. Duncan, H. Bergman and I. Lanekoff, Analyst, 2017, 142, 3424 DOI: 10.1039/C7AN00901A

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