Researchers at Florida State University are using mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to visualize the molecular makeup of biological samples. Their work is published in Analytical Chemistry.
The resolution using MSI is so powerful that every color in the image represents a distinct kind of molecule. Their novel use of MSI differs from conventional applications by the magnitude of the data generated using the lab’s world record 21-tesla ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) mass spectrometer (21-T). The 21-T ensures ultra-high definition image capturing, with significantly more pixels making up the image.
"I like to think of this as the most information per pixel -- how much chemical information we can get from each pixel in a given amount of time," Smith said. "We are observing new molecules that have never been observed, never been mass resolved in tissue before."