Virtual staining of label-free tissue in imaging mass spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) enables untargeted, highly multiplexed mapping of molecular species in biological tissue with unparalleled chemical specificity and sensitivity. However, most IMS platforms lack microscopy-level spatial resolution and cellular morphological contrast, necessitating subsequent histochemical staining, microscopic imaging, and advanced image registration to correlate/link molecular distributions with specific tissue features and cell types. We present a diffusion model-based virtual histological staining approach that enhances spatial resolution and digitally introduces cellular morphological contrast into mass spectrometry images of label-free human tissue. Blind testing on human kidney tissue demonstrated that the virtually stained images of label-free samples

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12315973 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature