Analytical Research & Development, MRL, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, 19486, USA.
Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism, MRL, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, 19486, USA.
Talanta. 2021 Dec 1;235:122725. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122725. Epub 2021 Jul 20.
Analysis of the spatial distribution of metals, metalloids, and non-metals in biological tissues is of significant interest in the life sciences, helping to illuminate the function and roles these elements play within various biological pathways. Chemical imaging methods are commonly employed to address biological questions and reveal individual spatial distributions of analytes of interest. Elucidation of these spatial distributions can help determine key elemental and molecular information within the respective biological specimens. However, traditionally utilized imaging methods prove challenging for certain biological tissue analysis, especially with respect to applications that require high spatial resolution or depth profiling. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been shown to be effective for direct elemental analysis of solid materials with high levels of precision. In this work, chemical imaging using LA-ICP-MS has been applied as a powerful analytical methodology for the analysis of liver tissue samples. The proposed analytical methodology successfully produced both qualitative and quantitative information regarding specific elemental distributions within images of thin tissue sections with high levels of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The spatial resolution of the analytical methodology was innovatively enhanced, helping to broaden applicability of this technique to applications requiring significantly high spatial resolutions. This information can be used to further understand the role these elements play within biological systems and impacts dysregulation may have.
分析生物组织中金属、类金属和非金属的空间分布在生命科学中具有重要意义，有助于阐明这些元素在各种生物途径中所起的作用。化学成像方法常用于解决生物学问题，并揭示感兴趣分析物的个体空间分布。阐明这些空间分布有助于确定各自生物样本中的关键元素和分子信息。然而，传统的成像方法对于某些生物组织分析具有挑战性，特别是对于需要高空间分辨率或深度剖析的应用。激光烧蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱 (LA-ICP-MS) 已被证明是一种有效的方法，可用于对高精度的固体材料进行直接元素分析。在这项工作中，已将 LA-ICP-MS 化学成像用作分析肝组织样品的强大分析方法。该分析方法成功地提供了关于薄组织切片图像中特定元素分布的定性和定量信息，具有较高的灵敏度和空间分辨率。该分析方法的空间分辨率得到了创新性的提高，有助于拓宽该技术在需要高空间分辨率的应用中的适用性。这些信息可用于进一步了解这些元素在生物系统中的作用以及失调可能产生的影响。
