Bruker Corporation (Bremen, Germany) has signed an exclusive patent license agreement with 3M Company (Elyria, Ohio), which allows Bruker to use 3M patented innovations relating to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging.
The licensed 3M patents are directed to a technique for performing mass spectrometry analysis on proteins in tissue that has been preserved in paraffin. The technology enables researchers to more easily study formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue for life-science research and drug development.
MALDI imaging has been increasingly used to analyze clinically relevant tissues such as tumor biopsies. The molecular phenotypes observed by MALDI imaging have been shown to correlate with parameters such as disease status or patient outcome, and have been successfully applied to the classification of tissue samples.
