Biomolecular Imaging of Regeneration of Zebrafish Caudal Fins Using High Spatial Resolution Ambient Mass Spectrometry

We observed the molecular distribution changes that occurred during the regeneration of fresh zebrafish caudal fins using the recently developed ambient high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) imaging technique of atmospheric pressure-nanoparticle and plasma-assisted laser desorption ionization (AP-nanoPALDI). AP-nanoPALDI analyses of fresh zebrafish caudal fins revealed that the small molecules, including neurotransmitters, amino acids, lipids, and metabolites of the regenerated area, were more evenly distributed throughout the bony rays and inter-ray mesenchymal tissues compared to the original area in the early stage. Zebrafish caudal fins of less than 200 μm thickness can be very useful for tissue regeneration studies using ambient MS imaging by providing sufficient biomolecular information at the molecular level for wound-healing studies. AP-nanoPALDI imaging was compared with a complementary MS imaging tool, surface sensitive time-of-flight secondary ion MS (ToF-SIMS).