SALDI-MS and SERS Multimodal Imaging: One Nanostructured Substrate to Rule Them Both

Imaging techniques based on mass spectrometry or spectroscopy methods inform in situ about the chemical composition of biological tissues or organisms, but they are sometimes limited by their specificity, sensitivity, or spatial resolution. Multimodal imaging addresses these limitations by combining several imaging modalities; however, measuring the same sample with the same preparation using multiple imaging techniques is still uncommon due to the incompatibility between substrates, sample preparation protocols, and data formats. We present a multimodal imaging approach that employs a gold-coated nanostructured silicon substrate to couple surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Our approach integrates both imaging modalities by using the same substrate, sample preparation, and data analysis software on the same sample, allowing the coregistration of both images. We transferred molecules from clean fingertips and fingertips covered with plasticine modeling clay onto our nanostructure and analyzed their chemical composition and distribution by SALDI-MS and SERS. Multimodal analysis located the traces of plasticine on fingermarks and provided chemical information on the composition of the clay. Our multimodal approach effectively combines the advantages of mass spectrometry and vibrational spectroscopy with the signal enhancing abilities of our nanostructured substrate.

Automated summary

This study presents a multimodal imaging approach that combines surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) using a gold-coated nanostructured silicon substrate. By using the same substrate, sample preparation, and data analysis software, both imaging modalities can be integrated and co-registered on the same sample. The approach was successfully applied to analyze the chemical composition and distribution of molecules transferred from clean fingertips and fingertips covered with plasticine modeling clay, providing valuable information on the composition of the clay and locating the traces of plasticine on fingermarks.