
Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful and versatile technique able to investigate the spatial distribution of multiple non-labelled endogenous and exogenous analytes simultaneously, within a wide range of samples. Over the last two decades, MSI has found widespread application for an extensive range of disciplines including pre-clinical drug discovery, clinical applications and human identification for forensic purposes. Technical advances in both instrumentation and software capabilities have led to a continual increase in the interest in MSI; however, there are still some limitations. In this review, we discuss the emerging applications in MSI that significantly impact three key areas of mass spectrometry (MS) research—clinical, pre-clinical and forensics—and roadblocks to the expansion of use of MSI in these areas.
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C. Russo, C. Heaton, L. Flint, O. Voloaca, S. Haywood-Small, M.R. Clench, S. Francese and L.M. Cole, “Emerging applications in mass spectrometry imaging; enablers and roadblocks”, J. Spectral Imaging 9, a13 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1255/jsi.2020.a13












![Targeted proton transfer charge reduction (tPTCR) nano-DESI mass spectrometry imaging of liver tissue from orally dosed rat (Animal 3). a) optical image of a blood vessel within liver tissue. b) Composite ion image of charge-reduced haeme-bound α-globin (7+ and 6+ charge states; m/z 2259.9 and m/z 2636.3 respectively, red) and the charged-reduced [FABP+bezafibrate] complex (7+ and 6+ charge states; m/z 2097.5 and m/z 2446.9 respectively, blue). c) Ion image composed from charge-reduced haeme-bound α-globin (7+ and 6+ charge states) showing abundance in blood vessels. d) Ion image composed from charge-reduced [FABP+bezafibrate] complex (7+ and 6+ charge states) showing abundance in bulk tissue and absence in the blood vessel. Reproduced from https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202202075 under a CC BY licence. Light and mass spectromert imaging of tissue samples](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/news/MSI%20drug-protein%20complex-w.jpg?itok=CBNIjyYl)
