Biomarker discovery protocols can accommodate fresh-frozen or formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues or tissue microarrays (TMAs). Many tissue banks routinely fix biological specimens for long-term storage. Fixation agents act by crosslinking proteins into an insoluble Network, creating an excellent preservation technique. FFPE protocols involve additional processing steps of antigen-retrieval and protein digestion. Numerous publications have demonstrated the utiilty of imaging tryptic peptides from tissue or liberated N-linked glycans.
Hear how Bruker’s MALDI imaging tools for biomarker discovery are helping Prof. Richard Drake of the Medical University of South Carolina, to gain new insight into the glycosylation pathways of cancer development.
SpatialOMx on the timsTOF fleX rapidly provides a high definition, label-free overview that merges chemical information with vital morphological context. Whether it’s proteomics, lipidomics, glycomics, or metabolomics, the timsTOF fleX is the ideal dual-source platform for MALDI guided SpatialOMx analyses. First, use the patented smartbeam™ 3D technology to conduct fast, label-free MALDI Imaging for mapping the distribution of molecules in your sample that identify molecularly unique regions of interest for microextraction and deeper X-Omic analyses. Then, apply timsTOF flex’s powerful LC-MS/MS with PASEF for the highest level of identifications and for greatest confidence in your results. Regions of interest may be selected manually or use SCiLS Lab automated segmentation to know exactly where your microextraction will have the highest impact.
