The field of this invention relates to
immunohistochemistry (IHC) and
in situ hybridization (ISH) for the
targeted detection and mapping of biomolecules (e.g., proteins and miRNAs) in tissues or cells for example, for research use and for clinical use such by pathologists (e.g., biomarker analyses of a resected tumor or
tumor biopsy). In particular, the use of
mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) as a mode to detect and map the biomolecules in tissues or cells for example. More specifically, the field of this invention relates to photocleavable
mass-tag reagents which are attached to probes such as antibodies and nucleic acids and used to achieve
multiplex immunohistochemistry and
in situ hybridization, with MSI as the mode of detection / readout. Probe types other than antibodies and nucleic acids are also covered in the field of invention, including but not limited to
carbohydrate-binding proteins (e.g., lectins), receptors and ligands. Finally, the field of the invention also encompasses multi-omic MSI procedures, where MSI of photocleavable
mass-tag probes is combined with other
modes of MSI, such as direct
label-free MSI of endogenous biomolecules from the
biospecimen (e.g., tissue), whereby said biomolecules can be intact or digested (e.g., chemically digested or by
enzyme).