Ambient molecular imaging by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) allows the direct analysis of ordinary objects or pre-processed samples under ambient conditions. Among other applications, DESI is used to identify and record spatial distributions of lipids and drug molecules in biological tissue sections. This technique does not require sample preparation other than production of microtome tissue slices and does not involve the use of ionization matrices. This greatly simplifies the procedure and prevents the redistribution of analytes during matrix deposition. Images are obtained by continuously moving the sample relative to the DESI sprayer and the inlet of the mass spectrometer. The timing of the protocol depends on the size of the surface to be analyzed and on the desired resolution. Analysis of organ tissue slices at 250 microm resolution typically takes between 30 min and 2 h.