LipostarMSI: Comprehensive, Vendor-Neutral Software for Visualization, Data Analysis, and Automated Molecular Identification in Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) is an established and
powerful
MS technique that enables molecular mapping of tissues and cells finding
widespread applications in academic, medical, and pharmaceutical industries.
As both the applications and MSI technology have undergone rapid growth
and improvement, the challenges associated both with analyzing large
datasets and identifying the many detected molecular species have
become apparent. The lack of readily available and comprehensive software
covering all necessary data analysis steps has further compounded
this challenge. To address this issue we developed LipostarMSI, comprehensive
and vendor-neutral software for targeted and untargeted MSI data analysis.
Through user-friendly implementation of image visualization and co-registration,
univariate and multivariate image and spectral analysis, and for the
first time, advanced lipid, metabolite, and drug metabolite (MetID)
automated identification, LipostarMSI effectively streamlines biochemical
interpretation of the data. Here, we introduce LipostarMSI and case
studies demonstrating the versatility and many capabilities of the
software.