The Imprinted PARAFILM as a New Carrier Material for Dried Plasma Spots (DPSs) Utilizing Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI-MS) in Phospholipidomics

Jiansong Chen; Yue Hu; Congxiang Shao; Haiyun Zhou; Zhiyue Lv

doi:10.3389/fchem.2021.801043

The Imprinted PARAFILM as a New Carrier Material for Dried Plasma Spots (DPSs) Utilizing Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI-MS) in Phospholipidomics

Front Chem. 2021 Dec 10:9:801043. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.801043. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jiansong Chen¹, Yue Hu^{2

3

4}, Congxiang Shao⁵, Haiyun Zhou¹, Zhiyue Lv^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Instrumental Analysis and Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
³ Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Biological Vector Control, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
⁵ Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

The application of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) and dried blood spot (DBS) sampling has been successfully implemented several times. However, the difficulty of combining DBS sampling with DESI-MS is still the carrier material used for the blood samples. In this study, a new, easily obtained, and cost-effective carrier substrate for dried plasma spot (DPS) sampling and DESI-MS analysis and its application in phospholipidomics studies was described. First, the effects of several carrier materials, including cellulose-based materials (31 ET paper and filter paper) and non-cellulose-based materials (PARAFILM and its shape-modified material, PTFE-printed glass slide and polyvinylidene fluoride film), were tested. Second, a method combining DPS sampling with DESI-MS for phospholipidomics analysis was established, and parameters affecting compound signal intensities, such as sample volume and sprayer solvent system, were optimized. In conclusion, the total signal intensity obtained from shape-modified PARAFILM was the strongest. The suitable plasma sample volume deposited on PARAFILM carriers was 5 μl, and acetonitrile (ACN) was recommended as the optimal spray solvent for phospholipid (PL) profiling. Repeatability (87.5% of compounds with CV < 30%) and stability for data acquisition (48 h) were confirmed. Finally, the developed method was applied in phospholipidomics analysis of schistosomiasis, and a distinguished classification between control mice and infected mice was observed by using multivariate pattern recognition analysis, confirming the practical application of this new carrier material for DPS sampling and DESI-MS analysis. Compared with a previously reported method, the rapid metabolomics screening approach based on the implementation of DPS sampling coupled with the DESI-MS instrument developed in this study has increased analyte sensitivity, which may promote its further application in clinical studies.

Keywords: carrier material; desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry; dried plasma spots; parafilm; phospholipidomics.