Background
The mass spectrum imaging (Mass Spectrometry Imaging, MSI) is characterized in that under the conditions of no labeling and no complex sample pretreatment, the chemical information and the spatial distribution characteristics of various biological functional molecules on the surface of the tissue slice are directly obtained through one experiment, and the specific ion image can be associated with the tissue pathology characteristics, so that the method has a great application prospect in the fields of clinical medicine, molecular biology and the like.
In mass spectrometry imaging methods, a sample is held at a suitable distance from a moving stage, which is moved continuously or pulsed to scan the sample in two dimensions, by an electrospray needle or other desorption ionization means.
The mass spectrum imaging system in the prior art has the common problem of limited two-dimensional scanning range, and has the advantages of small quantity of detected samples and low efficiency. When the scanning range of the mass spectrum imaging system is enlarged, only the area of the objective table in the mass spectrum imaging system is increased, and the influence factors such as the extension of the scanning time, the environmental change, the increase of the material consumption and the like caused by the increase of the scanning area are not considered, so that the following technical problems exist in the prior art:
Firstly, as an open ion source, a sample is directly contacted with the external atmospheric environment and is greatly influenced by external factors such as temperature, humidity, dust and the like, and particularly, substances to be detected on the surface of a sample slice are easy to oxidize and deteriorate in a long-time scanning process, so that the analysis result is deviated.
Secondly, high-throughput biological sample detection is performed, cross contamination or health risk is easily caused among different samples to be detected, a detection result can be possibly influenced, and the accuracy of the detection result cannot be ensured.
And in the current market, a solvent flow path of a mass spectrum system adopting an in-situ ionization principle is usually combined with an injection pump, the volume of the injector is limited, the injector needs to be manually replaced after the spray solvent is consumed each time, uncertain factors such as solvent pollution, pipeline blockage, positioning offset and the like are easily caused, in-situ mass spectrum is a scanning and positioning requirement of a mu m level, fine variation on scanning parameters at any point can influence the final imaging or detection effect, and the stability and consistency of sample scanning are difficult to ensure.
In summary, due to the problems, the mass spectrum imaging system in the prior art cannot realize unattended high-throughput scanning of the sample 24h, and the night time of the mass spectrum is not fully utilized, so that waste of machine time, low detection efficiency and low productivity are caused. Therefore, there is a need for an improved displacement platform, mass spectrometry imaging system and control method thereof to effectively solve the above-mentioned technical problems.
Disclosure of Invention
Aiming at the technical problems of low detection efficiency, low productivity and insufficient stability of a mass spectrum imaging system in the prior art, it is necessary to provide a displacement platform and a mass spectrum imaging system with high detection efficiency, stable environment and high accuracy.
The displacement platform for mass spectrum imaging of the sample to be detected comprises an objective table with a groove, a cooling plate with a cooling channel and a phase stabilizing medium. The groove accommodates the sample to be detected, the cooling plate is overlapped with the objective table, and the phase stabilizing medium circulates in the cooling channel.
The invention also provides a mass spectrum imaging system for assembling the displacement platform, which comprises a cabin body, a workbench, the displacement platform, a sterilization module, an electrospray ionization module, a sampling module, a sample injection module, a mass spectrometer and a control system. The cabin body is a closed accommodating space capable of being opened and closed, and the displacement platform, the electrospray ionization module, the sampling module and the sampling module are all arranged on the workbench and are accommodated in the cabin body together with the workbench. The displacement platform can move relative to the workbench in the working plane where the displacement platform is located, and the electrospray ionization module, the sampling module and the sampling module are all kept at set distances from the displacement platform. The electrospray ionization module is arranged opposite to the sample injection module. The control system is electrically connected with the displacement platform, the sterilization module, the electrospray ionization module, the sampling module, the sample injection module and the mass spectrometer.
Meanwhile, the invention discloses a control method of the mass spectrum imaging system, which comprises the following specific steps:
S01, providing a sample to be detected and a displacement platform for mass spectrometry imaging, wherein the sample to be detected is fixed on the displacement platform, the displacement platform comprises an objective table with a groove and a cooling plate with a cooling channel, and the cooling plate is overlapped with the objective table;
s02, providing a phase stabilizing medium, wherein the phase stabilizing medium circulates in the cooling channel;
S03, providing a control system, controlling the displacement platform to move to a coordinate starting point, starting detection after positioning the sample to be detected, and displaying a mass spectrum detection result.
Compared with the prior art, the displacement platform for mass spectrum imaging of the sample to be detected, the mass spectrum imaging system and the control method thereof have the following advantages and outstanding technical effects.
Firstly, the displacement platform for mass spectrum imaging of the sample to be detected can scan 72 samples to be detected at most, the maximum scanning range reaches 150mmx100mm, the whole animal with a large area can be scanned, the scanning range and the scanning efficiency are greatly improved, and the automatic positioning scanning of the mass spectrum imaging system can be achieved by utilizing the movement coordination of the displacement platform.
Secondly, aiming at the long-time automatic scanning work of open mass spectrometry imaging, the sample to be tested is exposed in the atmosphere for a long time, and the sample to be tested is easily affected by factors such as temperature, dust particles and the like. The displacement platform adopts a structural design of refrigerating and keeping inert gas atmosphere, so that the property of the sample can be kept unchanged in the long-time operation process.
The mass spectrum imaging system is further matched with an electrospray ionization module, a sampling module and a sterilization module on the basis of using the displacement platform, wherein the electrospray ionization module adopts a high-pressure liquid phase pump combination mode to increase spray solution capacity, stabilize spraying speed, provide a heating unit to heat a spray needle and improve sensitivity of desorption detection, the sampling module provides a shooting and positioning function to enable detection results of multiple samples to be in one-to-one correspondence with samples to be detected, the sampling module provides an online PI device to detect and find more compounds, and the sterilization module provides an ultraviolet lamp to provide sterilization and disinfection environments for the interior of the mass spectrum imaging system, so that cross infection among the multiple samples and mutual interference are avoided and detection environments are influenced.
In summary, the displacement platform, the mass spectrum imaging system and the control method thereof for mass spectrum imaging of the sample to be detected ensure that large-area scanning can be continuously and stably carried out for a long time, improve efficiency and yield, ensure detection accuracy of the mass spectrum imaging system, and have the advantages of low installation difficulty of the whole system structure and simple and convenient control system.
Detailed Description
The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are only some, but not all embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
Referring to fig. 1, fig. 2, and fig. 3 in combination, fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a mass spectrum imaging system provided by the present invention, fig. 2 is a schematic perspective exploded view of the mass spectrum imaging system shown in fig. 1, and fig. 3 is a block diagram of the mass spectrum imaging system shown in fig. 2. The mass spectrum imaging system 100 is used for performing mass spectrum analysis detection and imaging on the sample to be detected, and the mass spectrum imaging system 100 comprises the displacement platform 10, a cabin body 20, a workbench 30, a sterilization module 40, an electrospray ionization module 50, a sampling module 60, a sample injection module 70, a mass spectrometer 80 and a control system 90.
The cabin body 20 has a closed accommodating space capable of being opened and closed, and comprises a cabin cover 21 and a cabin bottom 23, which are movably connected and disassembled, and the transparency, color patterns and patterns of the cabin cover 21 are not limited, and the cabin cover 21 is surrounded by a side wall and a bottom wall to form an accommodating space with an opening. The bilge 23 is covered at the opening of the bilge 21, and encloses the accommodating space in cooperation with the bilge 21, and the combination mode and the opening and closing mode of the bilge 23 are not limited.
The displacement platform 10, the sterilization module 40, the electrospray ionization module 50, the sampling module 60 and the sample injection module 70 are all disposed on the workbench 30 and are accommodated in the accommodating space of the cabin 20 together with the workbench 30.
The electrospray ionization module 50, the sampling module 60 and the sample injection module 70 are all kept at a set distance from the displacement platform 10. The electrospray ionization module 50 is disposed opposite to the sample injection module 70. The control system 90 is electrically connected to the displacement platform 10, the electrospray ionization module 50, the sampling module 60, the sample injection module 70, and the mass spectrometer 80.
Referring to fig. 2 and 4 in combination, fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the displacement platform shown in fig. 2. The displacement platform 10 is used for mass spectrum imaging of a sample to be detected, and comprises a support body 11, a cooling plate 13, a phase stabilizing medium 15 (see fig. 5), an objective table 17 and a fixing module 19. The cooling plate 13 is interposed between the support 11 and the stage 17. The fixing module 19 includes a screw knob 191, a spring 193 and a slider 195, wherein the screw knob 191 penetrates through the slider 195 to be abutted against the objective table 17, the slider 195 is abutted against the sample to be measured on the objective table 17, and the slider 195 is pushed to fix the sample to be measured on the objective table 17 by rotating the screw knob 191, so that movement of the sample to be measured in a mass spectrum detection process is avoided. The number of the screw knob 191, the spring 193, and the slider 195 is not limited to the present embodiment, and may be adjusted according to the scanning area of the sample to be measured.
The displacement platform 10 moves in the working plane where the displacement platform is located relative to the working table 30, the supporting body 11 is movably connected with the working table 30, the supporting body 11 can be controlled by the control system 90 to drive the cooling plate 13, the objective table 17 and the sample to be detected fixed on the objective table 17 to move in the working plane where the displacement platform is located relative to the working table 30, so that automatic positioning and detection of the sample to be detected are achieved.
Referring to fig. 5, a cross-sectional view along the line V-V shown in fig. 4 is shown. The cooling plate 13 includes a cooling channel 131, an air inlet 133, and an air outlet 135, which are sequentially communicated with each other. The cooling channel 131 is located in the cooling plate 13, and the phase stabilizing medium 15 circulates in the cooling channel 131. In this embodiment, the cooling channel 131 is a loop-shaped channel, and extends from the center of the cooling plate 13 to the edge, and the edge is provided with one air inlet 133 and a plurality of air outlet 135 symmetrically near the side wall of the cooling plate 13, the phase stabilizing medium 15 is inert gas subjected to cooling treatment, the temperature of the cooling treatment is set according to the sample to be tested, of course, the cooling channel 131 is not limited to the shape in this embodiment, the number and positions of the air inlet 133 and the air outlet 135 are not limited, the phase stabilizing medium 15 needs to flow into the cooling channel 131 through the air inlet 133 and be discharged through the air outlet 135, as indicated by the arrow mark in fig. 3, so the structural design outside this embodiment should ensure that the cooling channel 131, the air inlet 133 and the air outlet 135 are mutually communicated, and ensure that the phase stabilizing medium 15 can flow through the entire cooling channel 131 and contact with the cooling plate 13, thereby realizing the phase stabilizing effect.
Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the sterilization module shown in fig. 2. The sterilization module 40 includes a first ultraviolet lamp 41 and a mounting seat 42, where the first ultraviolet lamp 41 is disposed on the mounting seat 42, in this embodiment, the mounting seat 42 is disposed on one side of the accommodation space of the cabin cover 21 on the cabin body 20, and of course, the mounting position of the sterilization module 40 is not limited to a second time, and may be mounted at other positions in the accommodation space of the cabin body 20, so as to provide a sterilization and disinfection environment for the interior of the mass spectrum imaging system 100, thereby avoiding cross infection among multiple samples, mutual interference, and affecting the detection environment.
Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the electrospray ionization module shown in fig. 2. The electrospray ionization module 50 comprises a high-pressure liquid phase pump (not shown), a spray needle 53 and a heating unit 55, wherein the high-pressure liquid phase pump is connected and matched with the spray needle 53, the heating unit 55 is connected with the spray needle 53, inert gas conveyed to the spray needle 53 is heated, a spray solution is atomized, and the spray needle 53 and the displacement platform 10 keep a set distance.
Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the sampling module shown in fig. 2. The sampling module 60 includes a bracket 61 and an optical scanning unit 63, the bracket 61 is disposed on the workbench 30, and the optical scanning unit 63 is disposed on the bracket 61 and electrically connected to the control system 90. The optical scanning unit 63 is mainly used for scanning the sample to be measured, in this embodiment, the optical scanning unit 63 is a camera, but the invention is not limited thereto, and other ways of obtaining equivalent sampling effect can be used by the optical scanning unit 63.
Referring to fig. 9, which is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of the sample injection module shown in fig. 4, the sample injection module 70 includes an ion transmission tube 71, a quartz tube 73, a second ultraviolet lamp 75, a first electrode 77 and a second electrode 79, one end of the ion transmission tube 71 is connected with the quartz tube 73, the other end of the ion transmission tube maintains a set distance with the displacement platform 10, the quartz tube 73 is sintered inside the second ultraviolet lamp 75, the second ultraviolet lamp 75 is filled with mercury vapor, and both ends of the second ultraviolet lamp are respectively connected with the first electrode 77 and the second electrode 79.
Referring to fig. 2, 3 and 10, fig. 10 is a flowchart of a control method of a mass spectrometry imaging system. The control method for the mass spectrum imaging system comprises the following specific steps:
step S01, providing the sample to be measured and the displacement platform 10, wherein the sample to be measured is fixed on the displacement platform 10, the displacement platform 10 comprises a stage 17 with a groove and a cooling plate 13 with a cooling channel, and the cooling plate 13 is stacked with the stage 17;
Step S02, providing a phase stabilization medium 15, releasing the phase stabilization medium 15 by the control system 90, wherein the phase stabilization medium 15 circulates in the cooling channel 131;
step S03, providing the control system 90, and controlling the displacement platform 10 to move in the working plane of the workbench 30 by the control system 90 until the displacement platform 10 returns to the coordinate starting point;
step S04, providing the sampling module 60, opening the sampling module 60 through the control system 90, shooting the sample to be tested in the displacement platform 10, determining sampling coordinates and numbering for storage;
step S05, providing an electrospray ionization module 50, setting a spraying speed and a heating power of the electrospray ionization module 50 through the control system 90, wherein the electrospray ionization module 50 sprays high-speed charged droplets to bombard the surface of the sample to be detected in the displacement platform 10, so as to form desorption ions;
Step S06, providing a sample injection module 70, absorbing and transmitting the desorption ions by utilizing the negative pressure effect, energizing the sample injection module 70 through the control system 90, exciting mercury vapor in the sample injection module 70, emitting ultraviolet light to irradiate the desorption ions, and exciting ionization;
In step S07, a mass spectrometer 80 is provided, mass spectrum ions are received and detected, and the detection result of the mass spectrometer 80 is read and displayed by the control system 90.
Step S08, providing the position information corresponding to the number of the sample to be detected stored in the control system 90, where the control system 90 controls the displacement platform 10 to move to the detection position corresponding to the next number of the sample to be detected, and repeating steps S05-S08 until all the samples to be detected in the displacement platform 10 are detected.
Compared with the prior art, in the displacement platform, the mass spectrum imaging system and the control method thereof, through additionally arranging the cooling plate 13 and the phase stabilizing medium 15, the cooling plate 13 is overlapped with the objective table 17, the phase stabilizing medium 15 circulates in the cooling channel 131, so that 72 samples to be detected can be scanned at most, the maximum scanning range reaches 150mmx100mm, a large-area whole animal can be scanned, the scanning range and the scanning efficiency are greatly improved, and the automatic positioning scanning of the mass spectrum imaging system can be completed by matching the horizontal plane movement.
Secondly, for long-time automatic scanning operation of open mass spectrometry imaging, the sample to be tested is exposed in the atmosphere for a long time, and the sample to be tested is susceptible to the problems of temperature, dust particles and other factors, and by adopting the displacement platform 10, the stability of the test environment and the accuracy of the test result can be realized. The displacement platform 10 adopts a structural design of refrigerating and keeping inert gas atmosphere, so that the property of the sample to be tested is kept unchanged in the long-time operation process.
Furthermore, the mass spectrum imaging system 100 provided by the invention is further matched with the electrospray ionization module 50, the sampling module 60, the sample injection module 70 and the sterilization module 40 on the basis of using the displacement platform 10, the electrospray ionization module 50 adopts a mode of combining with the high-pressure liquid phase pump to increase the spray solution capacity and stabilize the spraying speed, the heating unit 55 is provided for heating the spray needle 53, the sensitivity of desorption detection is improved, the sampling module 60 provides a shooting and positioning function, multiple sample detection results can be in one-to-one correspondence with the sample to be detected, the sample injection module 70 provides an online PI device for detecting and finding more compounds, the sterilization module 40 provides the first ultraviolet lamp 41 for providing a sterilization and disinfection environment for the interior of the mass spectrum imaging system 100, and cross infection among multiple samples and mutual interference are avoided, so that the detection environment is influenced.
In summary, the displacement platform, the mass spectrum imaging system and the control method thereof for mass spectrum imaging of the sample to be detected ensure that large-area scanning can be continuously and stably carried out for a long time, improve efficiency and yield, ensure detection accuracy of the mass spectrum imaging system 100, and have low installation difficulty of the whole system structure and simple and convenient control system.
The foregoing description is only illustrative of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and all equivalent structures or equivalent processes or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields are included in the scope of the present invention.