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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Correlative Optical Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry Imaging Methodology to Visualise Drug Distribution in a Soft Tissue Section
Published on: June 20, 2025
Surface analysis for compositional, chemical and structural imaging in pharmaceutics with mass spectrometry: a
Timothy J Barnes1, Ivan M Kempson, Clive A Prestidge
1Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, City East, SA 5000, Australia.
Abstract:
We review the application of time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) for the surface chemical identification and distribution analysis (mapping) of pharmaceutically relevant materials. Specifically we explore the characterization of both solid state pharmaceuticals and bio-pharmaceuticals by ToF-SIMS; highlighting specific case studies concerning the distribution and stability of pharmaceutical actives within solid matrices, the face-specific properties of pharmaceutical crystals and elucidation of the structure/conformation of adsorbed proteins. Finally, potential future applications of ToF-SIMS in pharmaceutics are detailed.
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