Fast High-Resolution Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Imaging of the Distribution of Platinum-Based Anticancer Compounds in Multicellular Tumor Spheroids

Multicellular tumor spheroid models serve as an important three-dimensional in vitro cell model system as they mimic the complex tumor microenvironment and thus have contributed to valuable assays in drug discovery studies. In this study, we present a state-of-the-art laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) setup for high spatial resolution elemental imaging of multicellular tumor spheroids and an approach to account for variations in cell density. A low dispersion LA-ICPMS setup was employed, providing accelerated throughput and high sensitivity and permitting a lateral image resolution down to ∼2.5 μm for phosphorus and platinum in HCT116 colon cancer spheroids upon treatment with the clinically used anticancer drug oxaliplatin. Phosphorus was introduced as scalar to compensate for differences in cell density and tissue thickness and the Pt/P ratios together with the high resolution adopted in our approach allows the differentiation of platinum accumulation within each part of the morphology of the tumor spheroids (layers of proliferating, quiescent, and necrotic cells).