MS3 Imaging Enables the Simultaneous Analysis of Phospholipid C═C and sn-Position Isomers in Tissues

Anal Chem. 2024 Mar 12;96(10):4259-4265. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05807. Epub 2024 Feb 28.

Abstract

Mass spectrometry (MS) imaging of lipids in tissues with high structure specificity is challenging in the effective fragmentation of position-selective structures and the sensitive detection of multiple lipid isomers. Herein, we develop an MS3 imaging method for the simultaneous analysis of phospholipid C═C and sn-position isomers by on-tissue photochemical derivatization, nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano-DESI), and a dual-linear ion trap MS system. A novel laser-based sensing probe is developed for the real-time adjustment of the probe-to-surface distance for nano-DESI. This method is validated in mouse brain and kidney sections, showing its capability of sensitive resolving and imaging of the fatty acyl chain composition, the sn-position, and the C═C location of phospholipids in an MS3 scan. MS3 imaging of phospholipids has shown the capability of differentiation of cancerous, fibrosis, and adjacent normal regions in liver cancer tissues.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Isomerism
  • Mice
  • Phospholipids* / chemistry
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization* / methods

Substances

  • Phospholipids