High throughput screening of enzyme activity with mass spectrometry imaging

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has found a diversity of applications ranging from localizing metabolites and proteins in tissues to investigating microbial interactions, and as a result is perhaps the fastest growing subfield of mass spectrometry. Advances in surface mass spectrometry technologies are equally applicable to the analysis of arrayed samples. One promising field in which this capacity has been leveraged is the high-throughput analysis of enzyme activity, an important step in the development of a wide range of biotechnologies. This review article describes several emerging approaches that seek to improve the quality and scope of this application of MSI.