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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Detection Methods Human Health Effects Sign in to save

Mini Review: Highlight of Recent Advances and Applications of MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging in 2024

Analytical Science Advances 2025 10 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 68 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Yuen T. Ngai, David C.W. Lau, Parul Mittal, Peter Hoffmann

Summary

This mini review highlights recent advances in MALDI mass spectrometry imaging, a technology that can visualize hundreds of molecules in tissue samples in a single experiment. While focused on clinical diagnostics and pharmacology applications, this imaging technology is increasingly relevant for detecting and mapping where microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in human tissues.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) is an emerging imaging tool that allows visualisation of hundreds of analytes unbiasedly in a single experiment. This paper highlights the adaptations of MALDI-MSI in different context in 2024, such as clinical diagnostic, pharmacology, forensics applications, plant metabolism and biology. Challenges and advancements were also discussed regarding sample preparation, instrumentations, data analysis, and integration of machine learning in the trend of single cell resolution and multi-omics. There are still rooms for improvements in sensitivity, spatial resolution, acquisition algorithm and data integration across multi-omics data to enable MALDI-MSI at subcellular level.

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