Mass spectrometry imaging in the earth sciences—A tutorial to the micrometer-scale mapping of molecular fossils via MALDI FT-ICR MS
Analytica Chimica Acta, vol. 1395, pp. 345142
Abstract
Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is widely used in biomedical sciences, as well as in plant sciences or microbiological studies. However, it is much less prominent in the earth sciences, despite holding enormous potential. For example, marine and lake sediments are excellent archives of the past, as they store the remnants of organisms from the water column and from surrounding land. These organisms leave behind fossil molecules that can be employed to reconstruct the environmental conditions during their lifetime, and hence to study the climate evolution of Earth. Focusing on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging, we herein show that it is possible to read these molecular signatures in micrometer-sized spots, and thus to characterize climate variability with unprecedented resolution. However, obtaining this information is not trivial, and challenges arise from the nature of geological samples, low analyte concentrations, strong matrix effects, and from the need to reference the micrometer-scale maps to the original, large samples. Here we present a detailed tutorial on (i) how to select and prepare suitable samples, (ii) how to analyze them while avoiding the most common pitfalls and (iii) how to process the resulting large and complex dataset. We hope that this tutorial might contribute to inspire the use of MALDI in paleoenvironmental reconstructions in particular and in the earth sciences in general, and at the same time be useful to imaging applications across research fields.
Authors 9
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Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
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Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung · University of Bremen
Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, Potsdam, 14473, Brandenburg, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
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University of Bremen · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Organic Biogeochemistry in Geo-Systems, Lochnerstr. 4-20, Aachen, 52056, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona · University of Bremen · Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research
Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany; Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, CSIC, C. Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain; Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, C de les Columnes s/n, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
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University of Bremen · Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany; Institute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, J.-J.-Becher-Weg 21, Mainz, 55128, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
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Lars Wörmer corresponding
Affiliation as printed
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany. Electronic address: lwoermer@marum.de
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