The detection of viral particles in tissue samples has become an important topic
of discussion. With the prevalence of viral diseases, the need to effectively detect viral
particles from biological specimens would be extremely valuable. Detection and
identification of viruses in a timely manner can serve as an important method of
preventative control since early detection can help prevent the spread of
communicable diseases and allow to treat infections more rapidly and with precision.
Currently in laboratory settings the primary method of viral detection and identification
is through viral culturing or nucleic acid detection methods (e.g. RT-PCR) which can be
time consuming or challenging depending on the type of viral infection and may result
in negative patient outcomes. The Agar Lab specializes in the identification of relevant
biomolecules and drug compounds directly in tissue using MALDI-MSI analysis.
Preliminary results have established a potential application of MALDI to identify viral
particles directly in clinical samples. The project will focus on detecting and mapping
the distribution of an oncolytic virus that is injected into brain tumor for treatment. The
method development will be based on in situ tryptic digestion of proteins which will be
mapped using MALDI mass spectrometry imaging to detect the virus from tissue
samples and eventually applied to detect viral infections of brain tissue.