Serial 3D Imaging Mass Spectrometry at Its Tipping Point

Since biology is by and large a 3-dimensional phenomenon, it is hardly surprising that 3D imaging has had a significant impact on many challenges in the life sciences. Imaging mass spectrometry (MS) is a spatially resolved label-free analytical technique that recently maturated into a powerful tool for in situ localization of hundreds of molecular species. Serial 3D imaging MS reconstructs 3D molecular images from serial sections imaged with mass spectrometry. As such, it provides a novel 3D imaging modality inheriting the advantages of imaging MS. Serial 3D imaging MS has been steadily developing over the past decade, and many of the technical challenges have been met. Essential tools and protocols were developed, in particular to improve the reproducibility of sample preparation, speed up data acquisition, and enable computationally intensive analysis of the big data generated. As a result, experimental data is starting to emerge that takes advantage of the extra spatial dimension that 3D imaging MS offers. Most studies still focus on method development rather than on exploring specific biological problems. The future success of 3D imaging MS requires it to find its own niche alongside existing 3D imaging modalities through finding applications that benefit from 3D imaging and at the same time utilize the unique chemical sensitivity of imaging mass spectrometry. This perspective critically reviews the challenges encountered during the development of serial-sectioning 3D imaging MS and discusses the steps needed to tip it from being an academic curiosity into a tool of choice for answering biological and medical questions.