Background: Since its introduction 10 years ago by Caprioli and associates, MALDI mass spectrometry imaging has enabled spatial analysis of drugs, lipids, peptides, and polypeptides. In... Show moreBackground: Since its introduction 10 years ago by Caprioli and associates, MALDI mass spectrometry imaging has enabled spatial analysis of drugs, lipids, peptides, and polypeptides. In polypeptides, the detectable mass range is limited to small proteins with a mass less than 25 kDa. This is a limitation, as many proteins, including cytokines, growth factors, enzymes, and receptors have molecular weights, exceeding 25 kDa. In the present work, we report the development of a novel strategy to observe higher mass proteins up to 30 kDa. Material/Methods: We investigated the development of sample preparation methods based on hexafluoroisopropanol (1,1,1,3,3,3-hexaluoro-2-propanol) and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol solvents for protein solubilization optimized for high-mass proteins. Results: We were, for the first time in mass spectrometry imaging, able to detect to proteins up to 70 kDa directly from tissue. These developments indicate future avenues by which the sensitivity of protein mass spectrometry imaging can be further improved. We applied these developments to ovarian cancer and demonstrate that protein are similar to that which can be obtained using 2D gel based analyses. Conclusions: Increasing the possibility of detecting proteins and high-mass proteins is key for developing direct tissue proteomics and especially any potential functional investigation. These data will open the door of a novel step in mass spectrometry imaging. Show less
Remoortere, A. van; Zeijl, R.J.M. van; Oever, N. van den; Franck, J.; Longuespee, R.; Wisztorski, M.; ... ; McDonnell, L.A. 2010
MALDI imaging and profiling mass spectrometry of proteins typically leads to the detection of a large number of peptides and small proteins but is much less successful for larger proteins: most ion... Show moreMALDI imaging and profiling mass spectrometry of proteins typically leads to the detection of a large number of peptides and small proteins but is much less successful for larger proteins: most ion signals correspond to proteins of m/z < 25,000. This is a severe limitation as many proteins, including cytokines, growth factors, enzymes, and receptors have molecular weights exceeding 25 kDa. The detector technology typically used for protein imaging, a microchannel plate, is not well suited to the detection of high m/z ions and is prone to detector saturation when analyzing complex mixtures. Here we report increased sensitivity for higher mass proteins by using the CovaIX high mass HM1 detector (Zurich, Switzerland), which has been specifically designed for the detection of high mass ions and which is much less prone to detector saturation. The results demonstrate that a range of different sample preparation strategies enable higher mass proteins to be analyzed if the detector technology maintains high detection efficiency throughout the mass range. The detector enables proteins up to 70 kDa to be imaged, and proteins up to 110 kDa to be detected, directly from tissue, and indicates new directions by which the mass range amenable to MALDI imaging MS and MALDI profiling MS may be extended. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2010, 21, 1922-1929) (C) 2010 American Society for Mass Spectrometry Show less
