High Spatial Resolution Imaging by iMScope TRIO

Introduction

Pharmacokinetic analysis of candidate compounds is a critical step in drug development, for elucidating the site and mechanism of activity and for evaluating local cytotoxicity. Whole body autoradiography or fluorescence imaging are the conventional methods for tracing the fate of molecules in vivo. Despite the high cost of tagged compound production, these methods give ambiguous results for two reasons: first, it is impossible to distinguish between signals derived from intact or metabolites of tagged compounds; and secondly, tagged compounds could behave differently from untagged target compounds. Imaging mass spectrometry (MS) is a recently emerging technology as an alternative to conventional methods because it can quantify and give spatial distribution of both intact and metabolized forms of target compounds simultaneously. This label-free strategy is expected to drive drug development processes towards breakthrough discoveries. Here we present how imaging mass microscope iMScope TRIO was used for analysis of rat retina administered with chloroquine.

October 1, 2014 GMT