Laudatory Speaker: Prof. Frank Vanhaecke

Rapid advancements in instrumentation for laser ablation (LA)-ICPMS over the past ten years have led to increasing applications of the technique to obtain imaging data down to the intracellular level. Together with the re-introduction of simultaneous detection via time-of flight (TOF) detectors it is possible to acquire elemental maps of samples much faster without compromising on pixel resolution [1]. These advancements provide opportunities to use LA-ICPMS for imaging of biological tissues and cells to study, amongst others, disease pathology, therapeutics and elemental homeostasis. LA-ICP-TOFMS leads to very colourful maps and although there is effort being put by some authors to make such maps (even more) relevant through quantification approaches, obtaining quantitative information backed up by adequate QC/QA and with a correct assessment of the corresponding uncertainty still represents a challenge.

This keynote lecture will describe efforts made so far for multi-element quantitative bio-imaging with associated remaining challenges. It will emphasise on how some of those challenges have been addressed by examples of work by our team including i) optimisation of LA parameters to improve sensitivity and omit effects of species-specific calibration of Fe and Se in relation to Alzheimer’s disease using ICP-QQQ-MS technology [2] ;ii) unravelling the potential of high resolution multielement imaging of tissue using ICP-ToF-MS to support novel therapeutics for Wilson’s disease as well as combined with novel internal standardisation for quantitative single cell imaging, respectively [3, 4] and, iii) development of automated approaches based on bioprinting technology to improve the performance of gelatin-based calibration standards for quantitative imaging [5]. Finally, the lecture will also describe how such developed approaches were translated to other bioimaging techniques such as synchrotron µ-focus XRF and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy imaging to show the potential of ICP-MS to underpin quantification more widely across the bioimaging field.

References
[1] S.J.M. Van Malderen, T. Van Acker, F. Vanhaecke, Anal. Chem, 2020, 92, 8, 5756-5764
[2] K. Billimoria, D. N. Douglas, G. Huelga-Suarez, J. F. Collingwood and H. Goenaga-Infante, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2021, 36, 1047-1054
[3] S. Strekopytov, K. Billimoria and H. Goenaga-Infante, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2023, 38, 704-715
[4] K. Billimoria, E. Andresen, U. Resch-Genger, and H. Goenaga-Infante, Anal. Chem., 2024, 96 (30), 12570-12576
[5] K. Billimoria, Y.A. Diaz Fernandez, E. Andresen, I. Sorzabal-Bellido, G. Huelga-Suarez, D. Bartczak, C. Ortiz de Solórzano, U. Resch-Genger and H. Goenaga Infante, Metallomics, 2022, 14, 12, mfac088