Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and nanoparticle-based imaging mass spectrometry for small metabolites: a practical protocol

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2011-2012

This review is the seventh update of the original article published in 1999 on the application of MALDI mass spectrometry to the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2012. General aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, and fragmentation are covered in the first part of the review and applications to various structural types constitute the remainder. The main groups of compound are oligo- and poly-saccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides, and biopharmaceuticals. Much of this material is presented in tabular form. Also discussed are medical and industrial applications of the technique, studies of enzyme reactions, and applications to chemical synthesis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 36:255-422, 2017.

Pore-forming toxins: Properties, diversity, and uses as tools to image sphingomyelin and ceramide phosphoethanolamine

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) represent a unique class of highly specific lipid-binding proteins. The cytotoxicity of these compounds has been overcome through crystallographic structure and mutation studies, facilitating the development of non-toxic lipid probes. As a consequence, non-toxic PFTs have been utilized as highly specific probes to visualize the diversity and dynamics of lipid nanostructures in living and fixed cells. This review is focused on the application of PFTs and their non-toxic analogs as tools to visualize sphingomyelin and ceramide phosphoethanolamine, two major phosphosphingolipids in mammalian and insect cells, respectively. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Pore-Forming Toxins edited by Mauro Dalla Serra and Franco Gambale.

Diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease: Potential role of molecular biometrics

Accurate diagnosis of predominantly colonic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not possible in 30% of patients. For decades, scientists have worked to find a solution to improve diagnostic accuracy for IBD, encompassing Crohn's colitis and ulcerative colitis. Evaluating protein patterns in surgical pathology colectomy specimens of colonic mucosal and submucosal compartments, individually, has potential for diagnostic medicine by identifying integrally independent, phenotype-specific cellular and molecular characteristics. Mass spectrometry (MS) and imaging (I) MS are analytical technologies that directly measure molecular species in clinical specimens, contributing to the in-depth understanding of biological molecules. The biometric-system complexity and functional diversity is well suited to proteomic and diagnostic studies. The direct analysis of cells and tissues by Matrix-Assisted-Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) MS/IMS has relevant medical diagnostic potential. MALDI-MS/IMS detection generates molecular signatures obtained from specific cell types within tissue sections. Herein discussed is a perspective on the use of MALDI-MS/IMS and bioinformatics technologies for detection of molecular-biometric patterns and identification of differentiating proteins. I also discuss a perspective on the global challenge of transferring technologies to clinical laboratories dealing with IBD issues. The significance of serologic-immunometric advances is also discussed.

Diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease: Potential role of molecular biometrics

Accurate diagnosis of predominantly colonic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not possible in 30% of patients. For decades, scientists have worked to find a solution to improve diagnostic accuracy for IBD, encompassing Crohn's colitis and ulcerative colitis. Evaluating protein patterns in surgical pathology colectomy specimens of colonic mucosal and submucosal compartments, individually, has potential for diagnostic medicine by identifying integrally independent, phenotype-specific cellular and molecular characteristics. Mass spectrometry (MS) and imaging (I) MS are analytical technologies that directly measure molecular species in clinical specimens, contributing to the in-depth understanding of biological molecules. The biometric-system complexity and functional diversity is well suited to proteomic and diagnostic studies. The direct analysis of cells and tissues by Matrix-Assisted-Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) MS/IMS has relevant medical diagnostic potential. MALDI-MS/IMS detection generates molecular signatures obtained from specific cell types within tissue sections. Herein discussed is a perspective on the use of MALDI-MS/IMS and bioinformatics technologies for detection of molecular-biometric patterns and identification of differentiating proteins. I also discuss a perspective on the global challenge of transferring technologies to clinical laboratories dealing with IBD issues. The significance of serologic-immunometric advances is also discussed.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is a powerful tool that enables the simultaneous detection and identification of biomolecules in analytes. MALDI-imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) is a two-dimensional MALDI-mass spectrometric technique used to visualize the spatial distribution of biomolecules without extraction, purification, separation, or labeling of biological samples. MALDI-IMS has revealed the characteristic distribution of several biomolecules, including proteins, peptides, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleotides, in various tissues. The versatility of MALDI-IMS has opened a new frontier in several fields such as medicine, agriculture, biology, pharmacology, and pathology. MALDI-IMS has a great potential for discovery of unknown biomarkers. In this review, we describe the methodology and applications of MALDI-IMS for biological samples.