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高等学校化学研究 ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (2): 254-265.doi: 10.1007/s40242-025-4251-5

• Reviews • 上一篇    下一篇

Mass Spectrometry Imaging for Cellular-level Analysis: Advances and Applications on Medical Research

YU Yile1,2, FAN Jinghan1,2, LIU Huihui1,2, NIE Zongxiu1,2   

  1. 1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
  • 收稿日期:2024-12-24 接受日期:2025-02-14 出版日期:2025-04-01 发布日期:2025-03-31
  • 通讯作者: NIE Zongxiu,znie@iccas.ac.cn E-mail:znie@iccas.ac.cn
  • 基金资助:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22334007, 22274160, 22304175).

Mass Spectrometry Imaging for Cellular-level Analysis: Advances and Applications on Medical Research

YU Yile1,2, FAN Jinghan1,2, LIU Huihui1,2, NIE Zongxiu1,2   

  1. 1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
  • Received:2024-12-24 Accepted:2025-02-14 Online:2025-04-01 Published:2025-03-31
  • Contact: NIE Zongxiu,znie@iccas.ac.cn E-mail:znie@iccas.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22334007, 22274160, 22304175).

摘要: Mass spectrometry (MS) is widely used in medical applications, such as pharmacokinetics, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics, as it enables medical researchers and practitioners to gain insights into pathogenic mechanisms, identify biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring, and develop new treatments. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful analytical technique that combines the spatial information from imaging with the chemical information from MS. MSI assists medical researchers in various ways, including biomarker discovery, drug development and evaluation, personalized medicine, tissue imaging, and histochemical analysis. In addition, MSI not only provides high-resolution images of sample structures and enables researchers to identify specific cell types and their functions, but also enables the simultaneous visualization of multiple biomolecules within a single cell and allows researchers to study complex biological processes with greater precision. In this review, we summarize recent advances in MSI for single cells and cellular-level analysis and discuss how this technology can be used to improve our understanding of diseases and develop new treatments. The potential challenges and limitations of MSI in single-cell analysis, as well as prospects in this field, are also highlighted.

关键词: Single cell analysis, Cellular-level, Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI), Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)-Imaging, Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI)

Abstract: Mass spectrometry (MS) is widely used in medical applications, such as pharmacokinetics, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics, as it enables medical researchers and practitioners to gain insights into pathogenic mechanisms, identify biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring, and develop new treatments. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful analytical technique that combines the spatial information from imaging with the chemical information from MS. MSI assists medical researchers in various ways, including biomarker discovery, drug development and evaluation, personalized medicine, tissue imaging, and histochemical analysis. In addition, MSI not only provides high-resolution images of sample structures and enables researchers to identify specific cell types and their functions, but also enables the simultaneous visualization of multiple biomolecules within a single cell and allows researchers to study complex biological processes with greater precision. In this review, we summarize recent advances in MSI for single cells and cellular-level analysis and discuss how this technology can be used to improve our understanding of diseases and develop new treatments. The potential challenges and limitations of MSI in single-cell analysis, as well as prospects in this field, are also highlighted.

Key words: Single cell analysis, Cellular-level, Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI), Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)-Imaging, Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI)