30μm spatial resolution protein MALDI MSI: In-depth comparison of five sample preparation protocols applied to human healthy and atherosclerotic arteries

Abstract

Tissue preparation is the key to a successful MALDI mass spectrometry imaging experiment. A number of different tissue preparations methods have recently been reported for increased sensitivity and/or high spatial resolution analysis. In order to better benchmark these methods in terms of the information content and their suitability for analyzing small tissues containing small but distinct regions, we have performed an extensive comparison using technical and biological repeats as well as a fully randomized measuring sequence. We then demonstrate how the optimized tissue preparation method enables 30μm spatial resolution analysis of proteins from atherosclerotic arterial tissues, revealing proteins specific to the intima and media layers.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; High spatial resolution; MALDI mass spectrometry imaging; Sample preparation.