Denator Validates Compatibility of Heat-stabilization System with MALDI Imaging Analysis to Assist in Detection of Metabolites and Endogenous Peptides

Denator AB announced today that the company’s heat-stabilization system has been demonstrated to be compatible with MALDI imaging analysis. The preservation of sample components prior to MALDI imaging analysis is crucial to accurately measure the distribution and abundance of biological molecules in organs.

During downstream analysis, the presence of metabolites, drug compounds and endogenous peptides, existing at very low levels in the tissue sample, is often difficult to detect due to rapid degradation of the molecule of interest or masking by protein fragments generated from normal degradation processes. Utilization of Denator’s Stabilizor™ system, based on the company’s heat-stabilization technology, has been shown to stop degradation from the moment of sampling. This leads to increased accuracy and quality of analytical results.

This news will be of particular interest to researchers within pharmaceutical research looking at mapping molecules in situ on tissue sections. A recently published paper demonstrated an increased recovery of metabolites from tissue samples when utilizing heat stabilization followed by an optimal protocol for MALDI imaging analysis (Conductive carbon tape used for support and mounting of both whole animal and fragile heat-treated tissue sections for MALDI MS imaging and quantification, Goodwin et al., Journal of Proteomics, 2012).

Olof Sköld, CEO at Denator, says: “MALDI imaging is a very promising tool for biomarker characterization and localization in drug development. By working closely with users of our system, we have now proven the compatibility between our Stabilizor system and this analytical method. There is no other known method on the market today that can ensure stability of biological components in tissue samples prior to MALDI imaging analysis. We see this development as a natural step to ensure that researchers who heat-stabilize tissues upstream achieve the best possible analytical results downstream.”

Implementation of the Stabilizor solution in laboratory workflows is reflected in a growing number of peer-reviewed publications. Scientists are able to perform many analyses without risk of sample degradation, confident that their results truly reflect the in vivo situation.