The Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) has chosen Andreas Römpp (38) and Sabine Guenther (30) as the recipients of its Best Paper Award 2011. Römpp and Guenther are the lead authors of a paper published in ABC on mass spectrometry imaging. The award, accompanied by 1,000 euros, was created by Springer to honor exceptional young scientists and to stimulate their research careers. The ABC Best Paper Award has been given since 2005.

Mass spectrometry (MS) imaging is the main research field of Drs. Andreas Römpp and Sabine Guenther. To increase validity and reliability of MS images, they focus on accurate mass-based identification of imaged compounds and on improving effective lateral resolution in biological tissue analysis. Römpp and Guenther were able to combine the high-quality spectral features of Fourier transform MS for the first time with lateral resolution in the low micrometer range for biological tissue imaging. The method was applied to phospholipids, neuropeptides and drug compounds. The resulting MS images show excellent correlation with histological features and provide highly specific molecular information. Several additional applications are currently under investigation including human tumor, plant and insect samples.

Andreas Römpp studied environmental chemistry at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, and Colorado State University, USA. Following his PhD at the University of Mainz, Germany, in 2003, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the FOM-Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam. He is currently group leader at the Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry of Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. Sabine Guenther studied chemistry at Justus Liebig University and graduated in 2007. She received her PhD in 2011 from the Faculty of Biology and Chemistry of the same university.

Klaus G. Heumann, Editor of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, said, “Römpp and Guenther’s pioneering work is new and innovative, meeting ABC’s high standards for exceptional research articles. In their work, they developed a MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization) MS imaging method with high spatial resolution. In principle, the new imaging system opens the door for more analytical quality and reliability in mass spectrometric imaging.“

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, an international journal dealing with all aspects of analytical and bioanalytical sciences, celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012. The journal covers all fields of pure and applied analytical chemistry and bioanalysis, including topics at their interfaces with life and health sciences, engineering and materials sciences, environmental sciences, earth sciences and others. ABC counts among the top 10 of 70 journals in the category “Chemistry, Analytical” ranked by Impact Factor.

Springer (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific publisher of books and journals, delivering quality content through innovative information products and services. It publishes close to 500 academic and professional society journals. Springer is part of the publishing group Springer Science+Business Media. In the science, technology and medicine (STM) sector, the group publishes around 2,000 journals and more than 7,000 new books a year, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. Springer has operations in about 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and more than 5,500 employees.

The article “Mass spectrometry imaging with high resolution in mass and space (HR2 MSI) for reliable investigation of drug compound distributions on the cellular level” is freely available online on SpringerLink at http://www.springerlink.com/content/tr9755014x210736/ or can be requested as a pdf.

Contact: Joan Robinson, Springer, joan.robinson@springer.com, tel.: +49-6221-487-8130

Springer-Verlag GmbH, Heidelberg, Zweigniederlassung der Springer-Verlag GmbH, BerlinTiergartenstrasse 17D-69121 HeidelbergTelefon: +49 (0) 6221 487 0Email: webmaster@springer.com