AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Wednesday Sessions
       Session AS+BI-WeA

Invited Paper AS+BI-WeA1
Imaging Biomolecules at Surfaces

Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 2:00 pm, Room 2005

Session: Imaging and Characterization of Biological Materials
Presenter: R.M.A. Heeren, FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, The Netherlands
Authors: R.M.A. Heeren, FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, The Netherlands
E.R. Amstalden, FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, The Netherlands
A.F.M. Altelaar, FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, The Netherlands
M. Froesch, FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, The Netherlands
L.A McDonnell, FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, The Netherlands
Correspondent: Click to Email
Mass spectrometry is one of the technologies that enable the investigation of the spatial organization of biomolecules at complex surfaces. The potential of imaging MS as a biomedical imaging technique is evident. Direct biomarker visualization on tissue is only one of a few key applications. Imaging mass spectrometry is currently undergoing rapid developments in areas spanning the entire technology chain required to generate a mass resolved chemical image. New detection technology and novel imaging approaches improve speed, sensitivity and spatial resolution of imaging MS. In this contribution we will discuss several technological and methodological aspects of imaging mass spectrometry using a set of selected applications in biomedical imaging. Various approaches exist that use different incarnations of imaging mass spectrometry ranging from protein profiling to high resolution imaging using MALDI and SIMS. In our studies, a novel stigmatic or microscope mode imaging MS strategy is employed that allows for the rapid generation of high resolution, large field-of-view mass resolved images of cells and tissue. This mass microscope is combined with tissue digestion strategies that aid in the identification of larger proteins found in tissue section. One of these strategies involves the so-called molecular scanner, a technique where proteins are electro-blotted from the tissue through a membrane containing immobilized proteolytic enzymes. While the proteins pass through the membrane they are digested into smaller proteolytic peptides that are subsequently captured on a PVDF membrane. This technology enhances the detection sensitivity as multiple peptides are generated from a single protein molecule. The advantages of this high resolution imaging approach, using the molecular scanner will be demonstrated on cervical tissue sections obtained in the framework of a biomarker discovery study for cervical cancer.