3. Conclusion

Imaging by TOF-SIMS mass spectrometry, thanks to major instrumental improvements over the last fifteen years or so, such as the introduction of liquid-tipped ion sources emitting bismuth aggregates, massive argon aggregate sources, and delayed extraction of secondary ions, has become a surface and volume analysis technique that has opened up to molecular analysis on a scale of a few hundred nanometers. In a single analysis, it provides access to both the organic and mineral composition of a sample. Damaging only a few tens of nanometers of the surface, this method can be considered non-destructive. Since the late 2000s, it has been increasingly used for the analysis of biological samples, such as animal and human tissues, but it is also used for the search and localization of metabolites in plant samples, and will in future become an indispensable method for the analysis of painting samples,...