High resolution mass spectrometry imaging for pharmaceutical and clinical applications

Mass spectrometry imaging is a technique that measures the composition of tissue slices and can visualise the distribution of different components from tissue. This way, for example, the distribution of drugs can be shown or a distinction can be made between healthy and diseased tissue. This thesis aimed towards getting the imaging procedure within a clinical timeframe through the development of a new sample preparation device, where the whole workflow was reduced from 90 minutes to less than half an hour. Furthermore, it describes a new method to quantify drugs in tissue, which aids in visualizing how drugs are absorbed into tissue. Finally, the technique was used to study biopsies of cholangiocarcinoma patients. Here, a link was found between a high level of unsaturated versus saturated sulfatides (a specific type of lipids) and a poorer survival outcome.