Mass spectrometry imaging of amino neurotransmitters: a comparison of derivatization methods and application in mouse brain tissue

The detection of small polar compounds such as amino neurotransmitters by MALDI mass spectrometry imaging has been hindered by low-detection sensitivity and background interferences. Recently, several of on-tissue chemical derivatization strategies have been independently reported that enable their detection. Here, we present a comparison between these methods, and demonstrate the visualization of the distributions of up to 23 amino metabolites in tissue. We applied this methodology to detect alterations of these compounds after inducing an experimental cortical spreading depression in mouse brain, which causes profound transient alterations in key neurotransmitters in one hemisphere and is relevant for migraine and various other neurological disorders. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11306-015-0926-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.