Direct analysis of endogenous and exogenous compounds in whole-animal tissue sections by imaging MALDI mass spectrometry

Abstract

In recent years, technological advances have improved our understanding of disease and infection at the molecular level. Genomic and proteomic studies have identified a large number of potential therapeutic targets for which combinatorial libraries have produced many more possible remedial compounds. Despite this exponential increase in knowledge and productivity, the drug discovery and development process is still a lengthy journey with high attrition rates for lead compounds. In this dissertation, a novel imaging MALDI mass spectrometry methodology was developed and applied to detect the label-free distribution of drug and metabolite compounds across whole-animal tissue sections. This work has lead to a technology that can facilitate the rapid screening and evaluation of compounds earlier in the drug discovery and development process, ultimately saving time and money.