Bruker licences 3M patents for MALDI imaging

Bruker Corporation and 3M Company have signed a patent license agreement which allows Bruker to use the 3M technology for conducting MALDI mass spectrometric imaging experiments on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue.

MALDI imaging pinpoints the locations of peptides, proteins, biomarkers, drugs, metabolites and other biological molecules in thin pieces of biological tissue and can help to identify tumour margins, drug targets, the distribution of illicit drugs in hair, and phospholipids in the brain.

The collaboration should facilitate in areas like drug development, the identification of biomarkers of disease, surgical procedures, and patient welfare.