Abstract

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is applied to measure the spatial distribution of hundreds of biomolecules in a sample. A mass spectrometer scans over the entire sample and collects a mass spectrum every 5-200 µm. This results in thousands of spots (or pixels) for each of which a mass spectrum is acquired. Each mass spectrum consists of hundreds of analytes that are measured by their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio. For each analyte the peak intensity in the mass spectra of every pixel is known and can be set together to map the spatial distribution of the analyte in the sample.

About This Material

This is a Hands-on Tutorial from the GTN which is usable either for individual self-study, or as a teaching material in a classroom.

Questions this will address

• What is the typical mass range of VOCs?
• In which compartments of the chilli are the measured VOCs located?
• In which compartment of the chilli is the capsaicin located?

Learning Objectives

• Plot average mass spectra and overlaid mass spectra of single spectra.
• Filter MSI data for a specific m/z range.
• Automatic generation of many m/z images.
• Overlay the distribution of several m/z in one image.