Lecture
Complementary Spectroscopic and Mass Spectrometric Imaging to Explore Molecular and Elemental Composition in Biological Systems
- at -
- ICM Saal 5
- Type: Lecture
Lecture description
K. Kronenberg, Graz/AT, N. Ghaffari Tabrizi-Wizsy, Graz/AT, H. Rave, Münster/DE R. Gonzalez de Vega, Graz/AT, L. Linsen, Münster/DE, D. Clases, Graz/AT
Understanding the interaction of organic and inorganic compounds with living systems is essential for advancing key fields such as medicine, toxicology, and environmental chemistry. All of these critical research areas require reliable biological model systems. At the same time, there is a strong need to replace the use of mammalian test animals in modern biomedical research. The development of alternative model systems is motivated both by ethical considerations and regulatory constraints. As a recent example of implementing the 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement), the chicken embryo has attracted attention as a versatile and ethically favourable in vivo model. Its rapid embryonic development, well-defined organ structure, and accessible vasculature make it suitable for studying processes such as homeostasis, drug delivery and toxicological effects.
Here, a multimodal imaging platform is presented combining elemental mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy to visualize the spatial distribution of elements and molecules in cross-sections of whole chicken embryos. This approach enables high-resolution mapping of elements and molecules across multiple organs, including heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone, and brain, within a single tissue section. As a result, organ-specific chemical patterns and differences in composition across organs can be directly compared within the same biological system. To support the interpretation of these complex, multidimensional datasets, a datadriven analysis approach (uniform manifold approximation and projection, UMAP) was applied to group regions with similar elemental or molecular profiles. This unsupervised data analysis revealed subtle chemical differences between tissue types and demonstrated how modern data analysis methods enhance the extraction of chemical information from large imaging datasets.
Overall, this research highlights the chicken embryo as a robust and ethically aligned model for biomedical research focused on chemical information. Combined with spectroscopic and mass spectrometry imaging as well as advanced data analysis, it provides a powerful platform for investigating spatially resolved elemental and molecular distributions and their relevance to biological function, with broad applicability across analytical and biomedical chemistry.
Understanding the interaction of organic and inorganic compounds with living systems is essential for advancing key fields such as medicine, toxicology, and environmental chemistry. All of these critical research areas require reliable biological model systems. At the same time, there is a strong need to replace the use of mammalian test animals in modern biomedical research. The development of alternative model systems is motivated both by ethical considerations and regulatory constraints. As a recent example of implementing the 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement), the chicken embryo has attracted attention as a versatile and ethically favourable in vivo model. Its rapid embryonic development, well-defined organ structure, and accessible vasculature make it suitable for studying processes such as homeostasis, drug delivery and toxicological effects.
Here, a multimodal imaging platform is presented combining elemental mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy to visualize the spatial distribution of elements and molecules in cross-sections of whole chicken embryos. This approach enables high-resolution mapping of elements and molecules across multiple organs, including heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone, and brain, within a single tissue section. As a result, organ-specific chemical patterns and differences in composition across organs can be directly compared within the same biological system. To support the interpretation of these complex, multidimensional datasets, a datadriven analysis approach (uniform manifold approximation and projection, UMAP) was applied to group regions with similar elemental or molecular profiles. This unsupervised data analysis revealed subtle chemical differences between tissue types and demonstrated how modern data analysis methods enhance the extraction of chemical information from large imaging datasets.
Overall, this research highlights the chicken embryo as a robust and ethically aligned model for biomedical research focused on chemical information. Combined with spectroscopic and mass spectrometry imaging as well as advanced data analysis, it provides a powerful platform for investigating spatially resolved elemental and molecular distributions and their relevance to biological function, with broad applicability across analytical and biomedical chemistry.
