Coated Blade Spray-Mass Spectrometry as a New Approach for the Rapid Characterization of Brain Tumors

Abstract

Brain tumors are neoplasms with one of the highest mortality rates. Therefore, the availability of methods that allow for the quick and effective diagnosis of brain tumors and selection of appropriate treatments is of critical importance for patient outcomes. In this study, coated blade spray-mass spectrometry (CBS-MS), which combines the features of microextraction and fast ionization methods, was applied for the analysis of brain tumors. In this approach, a sword-shaped probe is coated with a sorptive material to enable the extraction of analytes from biological samples. The analytes are then desorbed using only a few microliters of solvent, followed by the insertion of the CBS device into the interface on the mass spectrometer source. The results of this proof-of-concept experiment confirmed that CBS coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) enables the rapid differentiation of two histologically different lesions: meningiomas and gliomas. Moreover, quantitative CBS-HRMS/MS analysis of carnitine, the endogenous compound, previously identified as a discriminating metabolite, showed good reproducibility with the variation below 10% when using a standard addition calibration strategy and deuterated internal standards for correction. The resultant data show that the proposed CBS-MS technique can be useful for on-site qualitative and quantitative assessments of brain tumor metabolite profiles.

Acylcarnitine Profiling in Meningiomas with Different NF2 Mutation Status

“…Results could be acquired in a few seconds. CBS was tested for carnitine analysis in glioma homogenate [32]. Another solution could be microfluidic open ion source MOI mass spectrometry based on the coated fiber sampling [33].…”

Applications of ambient ionization mass spectrometry in 2022: An annual review

“…Although this proof‐of‐concept study sampled from cell cultures, the compounds detected could be beneficial biomarkers in the development of breath‐based cancer diagnostics. Numerous other AIMS techniques have been utilized in the study of cancerous cells and tissues, including CBS for the study of brain tumours, 61 PS‐MS to analyze urine samples from prostate cancer patients, 62 and internal extractive ESI (iEESI) for colorectal cancer tissue analysis. 63 Although cancer research accounts for the majority of AIMS‐based diagnostics development, there has been a focus on other diseases and conditions.…”