Imaging mass spectrometry of glycolipids.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that separates ionized molecules using differences in their mass, and can be used to determine the structure of the molecules. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is one of the most commonly used ionization methods for this procedure. A new technical method, imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), which is a two-dimensional MS, enables molecular imaging of tissue sections by the use of the MALDI-MS method. In this chapter, we briefly discuss available methods for analyzing glycolipids by IMS. We describe sample detection strategies, and also introduce a representative example of its research application.