<b>Development of Mass Spectrometry Imaging Methods for Identifying Biomarkers in Biological Systems</b>

<p dir="ltr">Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has emerged as a powerful tool in the field of biological research, offering detailed insights into the spatial distribution of biomolecules within tissue sections. MSI provides spatial and chemical information in the form of ion images, without the need for labelling. Spatial mapping of variety classes of biomolecules, including metabolites, lipids, peptides, glycans, and proteins, has been achieved using multiple MSI techniques. This technique also has increasing applications in clinical studies, drug development and forensics, which provides crucial information for complex systems of interest. Nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano-DESI) is an ambient ionization technique, with the advantage of customizing solvent composition to optimize the extraction of analytes from the sample. Nano-DESI offers high sensitivity and specificity for biomolecular imaging, with spatial resolution down to 10 µm. Another advantage for nano-DESI is that it does not require pre-treatment of the sample, which simplified the tissue analysis process.</p><p dir="ltr">My first research project was focused on the enhanced sensitivity of glycolipids in negative ion mode using ammonium fluoride (NH₄F) additives in the extraction solvent. For the second and third projects, I worked collaboratively with other research groups that were more biology-focused. During these projects, I worked with various animal models and different types of tissue. One type of tissue studied was triple-negative breast cancer tumor tissue, where we aimed to map the spatial distribution of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin. Another was from a mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) defect mouse model, in which we examined changes in lipids and metabolites across different regions of the cerebellum.</p>