Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI)
is impacting on multiple stages of drug discovery and supports established
histopathology imaging. MSI offers the ability to simultaneously map the
distribution of endogenous (metabolites, lipids and peptides) and exogenous
compounds (drugs and their metabolites) directly from the surface of tissue
section. This can offer new routes into understanding drug efficacy and safety.
The suite of MSI technologies that will be described are also capable of
allowing translation into the clinic through analysis of patient biopsies and
surgically collected tissues. Presented will be an overview of MSI in a drug
discovery environment, showcasing the current state of the art MSI technology
platforms. We will also discuss the challenges that remain in the data and
image analysis for this emerging molecular imaging modality.