Advanced mass calibration and visualization for FT-ICR Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Mass spectrometry imaging by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) yields hundreds of unique peaks, many of which cannot be resolved by lower performance mass spectrometers. The high mass accuracy and high mass resolving power allow confident identification of small molecules and lipids directly from biological tissue sections. Here, calibration strategies for FT-ICR MS imaging were investigated. Sub-parts-per-million mass accuracy is demonstrated over an entire tissue section. Ion abundance fluctuations are corrected by addition of total and relative ion abundances for a root-mean-square error of 0.158 ppm on 16,764 peaks. A new approach for visualization of FT-ICR MS imaging data at high resolution is presented. The “Mosaic Datacube” provides a flexible means to visualize the entire mass range at a mass spectral bin width of 0.001 Da. The high resolution Mosaic Datacube resolves spectral features not visible at lower bin widths, while retaining the high mass accuracy from the calibration methods discussed.