PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY; INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY; LASER-ABLATION; RESOLUTION; CHEMISTRY; TISSUES; METALS; CU

Elemental imaging is regarded as a valuable approach for a wide application range in modern medicine. Using tandem laser-ablation laser-inducedbreakdown spectroscopy (LA LIBS) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), high-sensitivity detection of trace metals can be combined with the possibility of analyzing nonmetallic bulk components of biological samples (for example, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen). In this work, the applicability of the tandem LA LIBS approach for the laterally resolved elemental analysis of a mouse model tumor sample after administering cytostatic medication is demonstrated. Results show that trace elements can be detected using the LA-ICP-MS domain of the setup while major components of the samples are analyzed simultaneously using LIBS. By expanding the analyte range covered during one analysis, information could be extracted from the data set that is not accessible to either of the stand-alone analysis methods.