{"693413":{"#nid":"693413","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Develop a New Recipe for Better Molecular Imaging ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAndrei Fedorov and his team have found a way to take some of the guesswork out of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), potentially giving scientists better tools to explore the molecules that influence our health.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA small sample of human tissue can hold a remarkable amount of information.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers can use it to search for molecular clues associated with cancer, investigate the chemical landscape of the brain, or determine where a drug travels after it enters the body. Mass spectrometry imaging, or MSI, helps answer those questions by mapping where different molecules are located within tissue.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut there\u0027s a catch. Despite MSI\u0027s sophisticated capabilities, finding the right conditions to get useful results can still require a considerable amount of trial and error. Georgia Tech professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/andrei-fedorov\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAndrei Fedorov\u003C\/a\u003E and Ph.D. student John Sentmanat are working to change that.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMass spectrometry imaging is probably the most powerful tool to enable new discoveries in cell biology and protein biochemistry. It helps provide a direct insight not only to how the body works but also the underlying cause of disease,\u201d said Fedorov, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Chair in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cBut the techniques for using it were evolving in a very empirical manner guided by experience and intuition. It\u2019s like shooting arrows in the dark.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn response to this barrier, the team has developed what Fedorov likens to a recipe, a framework designed to help researchers understand how different ingredients and conditions work together to produce the molecular information they want. Published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/ancham\/article\/98\/39\/28617\/5431698\/Predicting-Outcomes-of-Impingement-Based-Mass\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAnalytical Chemistry\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the approach could make MSI more predictable and give scientists a better starting point for developing new ways to study the molecular workings of the human body.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis paper provides a very simple recipe that everyone can read and use. You don\u2019t need to be a chef, or in this case, be able to write complicated equations,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cIt even allows you to come up with a new recipe using our model as the base.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough the framework was designed to be accessible to researchers across the field, Fedorov and Sentmanat didn\u2019t set out to solve a problem for the scientific community \u2014 they were trying to solve one in their own lab.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EGathering Ingredients\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2020, Fedorov, who is also a faculty member in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioresearch.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E, was awarded $1.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the development of a new imaging instrument that could change the study of tumor growth, disease progression, and cell function.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology, called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/11\/new-instrument-will-uncover-structure-and-chemical-composition-sub-cell-scale\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBeamMap\u003C\/a\u003E, has continued to develop with additional support from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cellmanufacturingusa.org\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies\u003C\/a\u003E (CMaT), led in part by Georgia Tech. By bringing together multiple imaging techniques, including MSI, BeamMap allows researchers to study both the physical surface of a biological sample and its molecular makeup.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile developing the instrument, Fedorov and Sentmanat encountered the same challenge that has made MSI difficult to optimize: Under some conditions, they successfully extracted the molecules they wanted to study. Under others, they damaged a sample without getting the information they needed. Rather than continue relying on trial and error, the team decided they needed a theory that could point them toward the right conditions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs we continued developing the instrument, we realized we needed to develop a theory to identify the optimal operating conditions,\u201d Sentmanat said. \u201cWhat began as an effort to fine-tune our own technology led to a broader theory that can be applied to a wide range of other approaches.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWriting the Recipe\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo build the recipe, the team returned to the basic physics that determines when molecules leave a sample and become available for detection. They distilled those complex interactions into a simpler framework, then compared its predictions with experimental data from previously published studies. When the framework held up across different MSI approaches, the researchers realized the recipe could be useful well beyond their own lab.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u0027s all measurable data that any scientist in this field would be able to use,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a magic tool that allows you, all of a sudden, not to be blind.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENext on the Menu\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFedorov sees the new framework as one step toward making MSI easier to understand and use. By giving researchers a better starting point for choosing how to operate an MSI system, the recipe could help them spend less time searching for the right conditions and more time using the technology to answer biological questions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat could become increasingly important as medicine moves toward understanding disease and treatment at the molecular level.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMore and more, physicians base their diagnoses on much more specific molecular information,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cThe drugs of the future will not be this little pill that you will be given; they will be your own immune cells. Your diagnostic tools have to match that future.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor now, the framework is intended primarily as a tool for researchers. But by helping scientists make better use of technologies like MSI, Fedorov hopes the work can contribute to discoveries that ultimately improve how diseases are understood, detected, and treated.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESeason to Taste\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike any recipe, the framework leaves room for adjustment. The team deliberately simplified some of the complex physics behind MSI to make the framework practical for other researchers, which means it is designed to point them toward promising conditions rather than predict exactly what will happen in every experiment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe theory provides a recipe that researchers can adapt by adding their own flavors,\u201d Sentmanat said. \u201cRather than prescribing an exact solution, it offers a framework for identifying the right ingredients and refining the conditions to achieve the best results.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers can adapt that starting point to their own instruments, samples, and questions. What began as an effort to improve \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.21203\/rs.3.rs-8832802\/v1\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBeamMap\u003C\/a\u003E could ultimately help others refine existing MSI technologies or develop new approaches of their own.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s kind of empowering.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers can use a small sample of human tissue to search for molecular clues associated with cancer, investigate the chemical landscape of the brain, or determine where a drug travels after it enters the body. Mass spectrometry imaging, or MSI, helps answer those questions by mapping where different molecules are located within tissue.\u0026nbsp;But there\u0027s a catch. Despite MSI\u0027s sophisticated capabilities, finding the right conditions to get useful results can still require a considerable amount of trial and error. Georgia Tech professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/andrei-fedorov\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAndrei Fedorov\u003C\/a\u003E and Ph.D. student John Sentmanat are working to change that.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Andrei Fedorov and his team have found a way to take some of the guesswork out of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), potentially giving scientists better tools to explore the molecules that influence our health. "}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2026-10-22 18:59:06","changed_gmt":"2026-10-26 13:05:01","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681519":{"id":"681519","type":"image","title":"Fedorov_AnalyticalChemistry_CoverArt1.jpg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EThe impact of a high-energy droplet provides enough force to eject molecules from the sample, illustrating the more active extraction process examined in the study. \u003Cem\u003EImage courtesy of Analytical Chemistry.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1792695570","gmt_created":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","changed":"1792695570","gmt_changed":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","alt":"Illustration of a blue droplet striking a biological sample and ejecting molecules from the surface.","file":{"fid":"265931","name":"_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":160058,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/22\/_0000_CoverArtV4.jpg?itok=XRqbMGOn"}},"681520":{"id":"681520","type":"image","title":"Fedorov_AnalyticalChemistry_CoverArt2.jpg","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EIn this illustration, molecules move from the sample into a liquid through favorable molecular interactions, representing the gentler of the two extraction processes examined in the study. \u003Cem\u003EImage courtesy of Analytical Chemistry.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1792695570","gmt_created":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","changed":"1792695570","gmt_changed":"2026-10-22 18:59:30","alt":"Illustration of blue liquid droplets interacting with molecules on the surface of a biological sample.","file":{"fid":"265932","name":"_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/22\/_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":159942,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/22\/_0001_CoverArtV4.jpg?itok=K6o9kuhx"}}},"media_ids":["681519","681520"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"98751","name":"College of Engineering; George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlie Bowman | Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}