Elemental bioimaging of platinum in mouse tissues by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the study of localization behavior of structurally similar complexes

•Biodistribution and relative bioavailability of platinum complexes were studied.•LA-ICP-MS imaging of mice tissue sections of platinum complexes was performed.•Differential deposition behaviors of platinum complexes were studied.•The use of LA-ICP-MS for molecular design in drug development was reported.