Imaging of atomic and molecular species in tissue with laser-SNMS for pharmaceutical studies

Abstract

Successful anticancer therapies will have the ability to selectively deliver compounds to target cells while sparing normal tissue. Currently, methods to determine the distribution of compounds with very high sensitivity and subcellular resolution are still unavailable. Laser secondary neutral mass spectrometry (laser-SNMS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) are capable of detecting atoms and molecules with high sensitivity and a spatial resolution of up to 80 nm. The use of such methods requires special preparation techniques that preserve the morphological and chemical integrity of living cells. In this paper, the ability of laser-SNMS to study transportation processes in animals of boron-containing compounds for boron neutron capture therapy will be discussed. The data show that with laser-SNMS it is possible to measure the distribution of these compounds in tissues with subcellular resolution, and that laser-SNMS is a very powerful tool for locating anticancer drugs in tissues. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.