Pena-Rodríguez, EloyGarcía Berrocoso, TeresaVázquez Fernández, EzequielOtero Espinar, Francisco J.Abian, JoaquinFernández Campos, Francisco2023-04-272023-04-272023-04-011873-3476https://hdl.handle.net/2445/197328Two of the most promising techniques in terms of ex vivo skin imaging and quantifying are confocal Raman microscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF MSI). Both techniques were set up, and the semiquantitative skin biodistribution of previously developed dexamethasone (DEX) loaded lipomers was compared using Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) as a tracer of the nanoparticles. In MALDI-TOF MSI, DEX was derivatised with GirT (DEX-GirT) and the semiquantitative biodistribution of both DEX-GirT and BAK was successfully obtained. The amount of DEX measured by confocal Raman microscopy was higher than that measured by MALDI-TOF MSI, but MALDI-TOF MSI proved to be a more suitable technique for tracing BAK. An absorption-promoting tendency of DEX loaded in lipomers versus a free-DEX solution was observed in confocal Raman microscopy. The higher spatial resolution of confocal Raman microscopy (350 nm) with respect to MALDI-TOF MSI (50 mu m) allowed to observe specific skin structures like hair follicles. Nevertheless, the faster sampling rate of MALDI-TOF-MSI, permitted the analysis of larger tissue regions. In conclusion, both techniques allowed to simultaneously analyze semiquantitative data together with qualitative images of biodistribution, which is a very helpful tool when designing nanoparticles that accumulate in specific anatomical regions.10 p.application/pdfengcc by-nc-nd (c) Pena Rodríguez, Eloy et al, 2023http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/PellEspectrometria de massesSkinMass spectrometryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article2023-04-17info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess36889415