摘要 |
The present disclosure provides a system and method for mass spectrometry imaging in a multi-stage ionization applying different technologies by decoupling the desorption and ionization events. At a first stage, a primary beam, such as an ion beam, desorbs one or more molecules of a targeted sample, and at a second stage the desorbed molecules are ionized. The system and method can act independent of a matrix application to the target sample for a direct analysis and has the spatial resolution needed to operate in nano-meters resolution for a cell-by-cell analysis, if desired. The first stage desorption applies a first technique that allows neutral molecules of the target sample to become desorbed from the surface without requiring the molecules to be ionized during the desorption. The second stage ionizes the neutral molecules after the desorption in the first stage, when the defined target molecules have been volatilized. |