Laser ablation ICP-MS: Application in biomedical research.

In the last decade, the development of diverse bioanalytical methodologies based on mass spectrometry imaging has increased, as has their application in biomedical questions. The distribution analysis of elements (metals, semimetals, and non-metals) in biological samples is a point of interest in life sciences, especially within the context of metallomics, which is the scientific field that encompasses the global analysis of the entirety of elemental species inside a cell or tissue. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been efficiently employed to generate qualitative and quantitative maps of elemental distribution in thin tissue sections of a variety of biological samples, for example, brain, cartilage, spinal cord, etc. The combination of elemental with molecular mass spectrometry allows obtaining information about the elements bound to proteins, when they are previously separated by gel electrophoresis (metalloproteomics), and also adding a new dimension to molecular mass spectrometry imaging by the correlation of molecular and elemental distribution maps in definite regions in a biological tissue. In the present review, recent biomedical applications in LA-ICP-MS imaging as a stand-alone technique and in combination with molecular mass spectrometry imaging techniques are discussed. Applications of LA-ICP-MS in the study of neurodegenerative diseases, distribution of contrast agents and metallodrugs, and metalloproteomics will be focused in this review. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 36:47-57, 2017.

Combination of PAGE and LA-ICP-MS as an analytical workflow in metallomics: state of the art, new quantification strategies, advantages and limitations.

Metallomics (more specifically, metalloproteomics) is an emerging field that encompasses the role, uptake, transport and storage of trace metals, which are essential to preserve the functions of proteins within a biological system. The current strategies for metal-binding and metalloprotein analysis based on the combination of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are discussed in this review. The advantages, limitations and the most recently developed and applied quantification approaches for this methodology are also described.

Metallomics studies of human blood serum from treated bipolar disorder patients.

In the present work, metallomics studies using biomolecular (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry, MALDI-TOF MS/MS) and elemental mass spectrometry (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, LA-ICPMS) of human blood serum samples from bipolar disorder (BD) patients compared to controls were performed. The serum samples from three different groups: control (n = 25), BD patients treated with Li (n = 15), and BD patients not treated with Li (n = 10), were pooled according to their groups and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). Then, in order to determine the metals bound to the protein spots and search for differences among the studied groups, the 2-D gels were analyzed by LA-ICPMS in three distinct modes: bioimaging of metals in gel sections, line scan through the protein spots, and microlocal analysis of selected protein spots. MALDI-TOF MS/MS characterized 32 serum proteins, and they were associated with the metals previously detected. When comparing control and treated BD patient groups, a differentiation in terms of metals bound to proteins was possible to observe. The main metals bound to proteins found in all groups were Na, Mg, Zn, Ca, and Fe. Mn was only detected in the control group; Co was only observed in the control and BD patients treated with Li group. K and Ti were only found in the BD patient groups, and P was only observed in control and BD patients not treated with Li drugs. This exploratory work shows that the association of LA-ICPMS with MALDI-TOF MS/MS is a powerful strategy in metallomics studies applied to determine differences in metal-containing proteins, being able to play an important role on the discovery of potential markers for BD and its treatment with Li in serum samples.