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Mass spectrometry imaging reveals the sub-organ distribution of carbon nanomaterials

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 176–182 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Label and label-free methods to image carbon-based nanomaterials exist. However, label-based approaches are limited by the risk of tag detachment over time, and label-free spectroscopic methods have slow imaging speeds, weak photoluminescence signals and strong backgrounds. Here, we present a label-free mass spectrometry imaging method to detect carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide and carbon nanodots in mice. The large molecular weights of nanoparticles are difficult to detect using conventional mass spectrometers, but our method overcomes this problem by using the intrinsic carbon cluster fingerprint signal of the nanomaterials. We mapped and quantified the sub-organ distribution of the nanomaterials in mice. Our results showed that most carbon nanotubes and nanodots were found in the outer parenchyma of the kidney, and all three materials were seen in the red pulp of the spleen. The highest concentrations of nanotubes in the spleen were found within the marginal zone.

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Figure 1: LDI MS imaging of CNMs in mouse tissue sections.
Figure 2: Sub-organ biodistribution of CNTs in mouse spleen tissue.
Figure 3: Quantification of CNMs in organs by LDI MS.
Figure 4: Quantification of CNTs in mouse spleen tissue section.
Figure 5: LDI MS imaging of drug-loaded CNTs in mouse tumour.
Figure 6: LDI MS imaging of MoS2 nanosheets in mouse lung tissue section.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (grants 21127901, 21321003, 21175139, 21305144 and 21205123) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A.B-T. acknowledges support from ‘The Ohio State University Start-up Funds’. The authors thank R. Graham Cooks and A. Tao for discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Suming Chen, Caiqiao Xiong, Huihui Liu, Qiongqiong Wan, Jian Hou, Qing He & Zongxiu Nie

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    Abraham Badu-Tawiah

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Contributions

Z.X.N. and S.M.C. conceived and designed the experiments. S.M.C. performed the experiments. C.Q.X., H.H.L. and Q.H. helped with animal care. S.M.C. and Q.Q.W. analysed the data. Q.Q.W. and H.H.L. contributed to cell culture. J.H. helped with TEM analysis. S.M.C., A.B-T. and Z.X.N. co-wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zongxiu Nie.

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Chen, S., Xiong, C., Liu, H. et al. Mass spectrometry imaging reveals the sub-organ distribution of carbon nanomaterials. Nature Nanotech 10, 176–182 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.282

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