Molecular imager for in-vitro imaging of protein biomarkers in tissue sections and cell clusters

14 March 2006

Billerica, Mass., USA. Bruker Daltonics has launched the MALDI Molecular Imager, a system for in-vitro imaging of peptide and protein biomarker distributions in tissue sections and cell clusters such as from tumour regions. The MALDI Molecular Imager addresses the need for high-sensitivity imaging of the spatial distribution of protein biomarkers in biological, pathology and other clinical research (for research use only).

It uses an easy-to-use autoFlex MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer equipped with proprietary smartbeam laser technology for high-throughput imaging. The molecular imager also incorporates powerful flexImaging visualization and image-processing software, and further expands Bruker Daltonics' leading CLINPROT product line for clinical proteomics and protein biomarker analysis.

The molecular imager can be applied whenever tissue sections are used to evaluate cellular histology and to monitor the spatial distribution of biomarkers, e.g. in pathology, morphology, oncology or neurology, and many other clinical research fields. In addition, the MALDI Molecular Imager can be of great value in pharmacology, for example for peptide and protein tissue characterization in transgenic animal models, as well as in basic biological research.

Prof. Richard M. Caprioli, Director, Mass Spectrometry Research Center at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN) and first customer of the MALDI Molecular Imager, commented: "Biomarker discovery will benefit enormously from the direct analysis of tissue sections by MALDI-MS. Gaining knowledge about the spatial localization of proteins and compounds in tissue will also provide invaluable knowledge to drug candidate research and chemical compound monitoring in animal and plant tissue."

Dr. Isabelle Fournier, Director of MALDI Imaging in the Neuroimmunology Laboratory of Prof. Michel Salzet at the University of Lille (France), pointed out: "The MALDI Molecular Imager is an important tool for histological research projects. In comparison to immuno-histochemical techniques, it is of special interest that there is neither a need for labelling of biomarkers, nor for the use of antibodies. Moreover, direct profiling of cancer regions identified in tissue biopsies in many cases allows for a sub-typing of tumours, thus giving clinicians additional information for diagnosis and therapy decisions."

Frank Laukien, Ph.D., President and CEO of Bruker Daltonics, stated: "The dedicated MALDI Molecular Imager for in-vitro protein biomarker imaging is a powerful new tool for molecular imaging. We believe that our proprietary smartbeam technology and advanced flexImaging software make this a user-friendly system for many clinical research and biological laboratories that typically would not use mass spectrometry."

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