Characterization of a novel miniaturized burst-mode infrared laser system for IR-MALDESI mass spectrometry imaging.
Laser systems are widely used in mass spectrometry as sample probes and ionization sources. Mid-infrared lasers are particularly suitable for analysis of high water content samples such as animal and plant tissues, using water as a resonantly excited sacrificial matrix. Commercially available mid-IR lasers have historically been bulky and expensive due to cooling requirements. This work presents a novel air-cooled miniature mid-IR laser with adjustable burst-mode output and details an evaluation of its performance for mass spectrometry imaging. The miniature laser was found capable of generating sufficient energy for complete ablation of animal tissue in the context of an IR-MALDESI experiment with exogenously added ice matrix, yielding several hundred confident metabolite identifications. Graphical abstract The use of a novel miniature 2.94 μm burst-mode laser in IR-MALDESI allows for rapid and sensitive mass spectrometry imaging of a whole mouse.
['Ekelöf|Måns|M|', 'Manni|Jeffrey|J|', 'Nazari|Milad|M|', 'Bokhart|Mark|M|', 'Muddiman|David C|DC|']
D000818:Animals D004867:Equipment Design D007259:Infrared Rays D007834:Lasers D051379:Mice D008904:Miniaturization D061848:Optical Imaging D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization D051598:Whole Body Imaging
Infrared laser IR-MALDESI Mass spectrometry imaging HRAM mass spectrometry