A Robotic Sample Handling Platform for Fully Automated Nanospray Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology
• Instrumentation Science

Background:

• Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) advancements allow high-throughput and 3D molecular mapping.
• Automated sample handling is crucial for these advanced MSI applications.
• Current MSI workflows often require manual sample manipulation, limiting throughput.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the first fully automated nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano-DESI) MSI platform.
• To integrate robotic sample handling and automated sample recognition for seamless MSI experiments.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of automated multi-sample and 3D MSI.

Main Methods:

• A custom LabVIEW program controlled a robotic arm for automated sample placement and removal.
• An automated sample recognition system identified sample coordinates in real-time.
• A microfluidic nano-DESI probe (MFP) with shear force feedback was used for robust imaging.
• A motorized XYZ stage facilitated automated sample transfer to the mass spectrometer.

Main Results:

• The automated nano-DESI MSI platform successfully imaged five mouse brain tissue sections sequentially without human intervention.
• High reproducibility and consistency were achieved across multiple samples and slides.
• The system demonstrated effective handling of height variations using shear force feedback.

Conclusions:

• A fully automated nano-DESI MSI workflow has been successfully developed and validated.
• This automation enables efficient, high-throughput, multi-sample, and 3D MSI experiments.
• The platform paves the way for advanced molecular mapping applications in various fields.