SCiLS Lab 2D: Quantitative Measure for Co-localization of m/z-images

MALDI imaging mass spectrometry is an analytical technique delivering information about the spatial distribution of molecules. MALDI-imaging is beneficial as a discovery tool, revealing molecules localized specifically to a particular feature or structure of the sample. The search for such molecules can be approached by identifying a template molecular ion with a distribution specific to the area of interest and then searching for other mass-over-charge (m/z) values co-localized with the template ion. With an application from photolithographic structuring1, we show how the SCiLS Lab 2D software can be used to quantify colocalization of m/z-values in MALDI-imaging.