MALDI-2 and t-MALDI-2 mass spectrometry imaging: Molecular insights into tissues, cell cultures and biofilms at the micrometer scale

Speaker: Klaus Dreisewerd (University of Münster)

Host: Boris Macek (CMFI)

Date & Time: 23.10.2025 | 12:30 – 14:00 Uhr

Venue:  Hörsaal 3M07, GUZ

Öffentliche Veranstaltung. Keine Anmeldung erforderlich.

Abstract: 

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) is increasingly used for the label-free molecular visualization of various classes of cellular lipids and further metabolites in tissue sections and in cell culture. Recent technology advancements, such as MALDI combined with laser-based postionization (MALDI-2) and transmission mode (t-)MALDI-2 MSI, now enable sensitive chemical profiling of these analyte classes at a cellular resolution and pixel sizes in the low to sub-micrometer range. Moreover, in-source coupling of t-MALDI-2-MSI with bright-field and fluorescence microscopy can now enable the co-registration of these metabolites and fluorescently labelled cellular components (e.g., proteins) with high spatial confidence. [1]

Along with a brief excursion into the historical roots of the MALDI technique at Münster University, I will in my talk discuss the analytical potential of the molecular (t-)MALDI-2 microscope with examples from current research collaborations -- taken from the eukaryotic and bacterial worlds as well as from host-pathogen systems -- and our method development with Bruker Daltonics.

[1] Potthoff, A., Schwenzfeier, J., Niehaus, M. et al. Spatial biology using single-cell mass spectrometry imaging and integrated microscopy. Nat Commun 16, 9129 (2025).

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64603-8

Biosketch:

Klaus Dreisewerd is a Professor of Biophysics at the University of Münster and head of the research group Biomedical Mass Spectrometry at the Institute of Hygiene. He graduated under the supervision of two of the early MALDI pioneers, Franz Hillenkamp and Michael Karas, before he moved to the Free University of Amsterdam to participate in one of the first MALDI-TOF research projects on single cell profiling. Since his return to Münster University in 1997, he continues to work on methodological and instrumental advancements of the MALDI technique with a particular interest in the physical and physicochemical fundamentals of the laser-based method. Since several years, a strong application-driven research focus of Klaus Dreisewerd and his group is on the advancement of highly-resolved MALDI imaging, its coupling with correlative microscopy, and its application for microbial analysis. For this, the team collaborates closely with numerous partners from industry and academia.