While traditional histology stands as the most common and valuable approach for cancer diagnosis, emerging technologies such as mass spectrometry (MS) imaging enable direct and rapid analysis of tissue and provide molecular information that is diagnostic of disease state. Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI-MS) is one of a recently developed ambient ionization technique in MS in which samples are examined in the ambient environment with minimal pretreatment.  Using DESI, direct lipid and metabolic analysis of biological samples such as tissue sections can be rapidly and routinely performed. Recent developments such as histological compatibility, three dimensional modeling and increased spatial resolution have expanded the range of DESI-MS imaging biomedical applications and will be discussed. DESI imaging experiments have been conducted on various human cancerous tissues and enabled successful diagnosis.  We used DESI-MS imaging, statistical analysis, and machine learning to classify gliomas, the most common type of primary brain tumor. DESI imaging was performed on human glioma samples of different histologic types, grades and of varied tumor cell concentration. The results from our experiments using DESI imaging revealed a robust capacity to discriminate grey and white matter from glial tumors, and to provide detailed diagnostic information. These studies prepare the way for future intraoperative examination and classification of tissues by MS, and could provide surgeons, pathologists, and oncologists with critical and previously unavailable information to guide surgical resections and patient management.

Award Address  (Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry sponsored by Avantor� Performance Materials). Ambient mass spectrometry imaging for cancer diagnosis and surgical margins assessment

247th National Meeting (2014)

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