Correlated vibrational spectroscopies and mass spectrometry imaging of tissues

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a challenging disease to treat and there is an unmet need to introduce new tools that offers comprehensive molecular imaging of tissues. Here we introduce an untargeted correlative molecular imaging approach to shed light on TNBC responders and non-responders to chemotherapy. Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) -mass spectrometry (MS) is an ambient technique for lipidomic/metabolomic imaging. We have developed a comprehensive pipeline to correlate Raman spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy imaging with DESI-MSI. This highly complementary transformative imaging tool can enable disruptive research by providing insights in monitoring TNBC progression and identification of new therapeutic targets.