A Multimodal Mass Spectrometric Imaging Instrument with Enhanced Ion Characterisation Capability

A new mass spectrometry instrument will map the molecular makeup of biological tissues with unprecedented sensitivity and spatial detail. Current imaging mass spectrometers struggle to identify unknown molecules in complex samples like cells and tissues. They can detect a compound’s presence but often cannot determine its exact chemical structure. This leaves a gap in understanding how drugs, environmental toxins, or disease-related molecules behave at the microscopic level. The researchers are building a multi-modal instrument that combines three different mass analysers—including a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance spectrometer and a secondary ion mass spectrometer with post-ionisation—to capture both the location and the structural identity of thousands of molecules simultaneously. If successful, the instrument could transform medical diagnostics and drug development. Surgeons might one day use it to see the chemical boundaries of a tumour during an operation, or pharmaceutical companies could track exactly where a new drug lands inside a cell. The project is fundamentally about building a new tool, not testing a specific application. But similar instrumentation advances have repeatedly opened unexpected doors—from metabolic profiling to environmental forensics. The seven collaborating universities and industrial partners (Bruker, Ionoptika, NPL, AstraZeneca) ensure the technology will be tested on real biological and pharmaceutical problems from the start.