CreateTarget and Analyze This!: new software assisting imaging mass spectrometry on Bruker Reflex IV and Ultraflex II instruments.

Two new software programs are presented which enable matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) on Bruker Reflex and Ultraflex instruments. The first program, CreateTarget, creates a high density raster with the dimensions of the tissue section, and converts these parameters into a virtual target plate file that can be imported in the normal mass spectrometer control software. Following automated spectrum acquisition, the second program, Analyze This!, converts the array of spectra into an Analyze 7.5 image format that can be read by image analysis software. These two tools are sufficient to allow IMS, and offer a valid alternative to commercially available software. CreateTarget and Analyze This! are available free of charge. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.