Liquid Micro junction Surface Sampling Analysis and MALDI imaging of Large and Small molecules in human Liver Disease

Liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA) is a new sampling technique in which a liquid micro-junction between a sample and a conductive pipette allows extraction of molecules from a surface, the solution is then injected into the mass spectrometer by chip-based nano-ESI (Advion Nanomate) LESA has previously been used for discreet position analysis on a variety of surfaces such as freeze dried tissue sections and TLC plates. Analytes that have been detected include proteins from standard solutions, Lipids from human plaques, most analysis has been used to detect drug or doped substances from a surface. LESA is a spatially localized sampling technique that lends itself ideally to imaging by sampling from sequential positions.

Liver Disease is one of the five biggest killers in the UK and is the only one of the big five that is increasing year on year. The liver is a highly complex organ that is responsible for a large proportion of the metabolism within the body.

To investigate the capabilities of the LESA system to get the most out of a sample and to develop and evaluate the LESA as an imaging system. To apply the technique to human liver disease to aid in disease understanding.