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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Sample Preparation for Metabolic Profiling using MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Published on: December 22, 2020
Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, analysis of metabolite-protein interactions, and imaging
Do Yup Lee1, Benjamin P Bowen, Trent R Northen
1Department of GTL Bioenergy and Structural Biology, Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Abstract:
Our understanding of biology has been greatly improved through recent developments in mass spectrometry, which is providing detailed information on protein and metabolite composition as well as protein-metabolite interactions. The high sensitivity and resolution of mass spectrometry achieved with liquid or gas chromatography allows for detection and quantification of hundreds to thousands of molecules in a single measurement. Where homogenization-based sample preparation and extraction methods result in a loss of spatial information, mass spectrometry imaging technologies provide the in situ distribution profiles of metabolites and proteins within tissues. Mass spectrometry-based analysis of metabolite abundance, protein-metabolite interactions, and spatial distribution of compounds facilitates the high-throughput screening of biochemical reactions, the reconstruction of metabolic networks, biomarker discovery, determination of tissue compositions, and functional annotation of both proteins and metabolites.
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