IMB’s Mass Spectrometry Facility is home to a suite of state-of-the-art mass spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, and robotic instrumentation, that has been refined and optimised to investigate biological systems in a high-throughput qualitative and quantitative manner.
The facility enables researchers at IMB to investigate a broad range of mass spectrometric applications, including molecular discovery, identification, characterisation and quantification. They are gaining insights into protein interactions and structures, amino acid sequence, post-translational modifications, compound stability, and bioavailability of potential therapeutics in a range of biological systems.
Some of the recent discoveries made using the facility include the identification and characterisation of potential therapeutic molecules from natural product extracts using de-novo peptide sequencing, and revealing the quantitative bioavailability characteristics of new molecules in the discovery and development of potential therapeutic molecules for a number of diseases including chronic pain, breast and ovarian cancer, and chronic kidney disease.
External users
Available systems include a suite of innovative mass spectrometers, such as a SCIEX MALDI ToF-ToF, an Agilent ES-ToF for high resolution small molecules, and a SCIEX 6600 triple ToF, arguably making IMB’s MS Facility the best in the country.
The facility currently assists over 150 different users from various institutions and fields. They have come to rely on IMB’s expertise and knowledge in both molecular science of natural products, and of the hardware and software of the various instruments at their disposal.
Our facility provides technical advice, research and training support, and can assist in the various stages of research, from concept through to experimental approach, including design, methodology, data acquisition and data processing, and project reporting and publication. Facility Manager Alun Jones has more than three decades of experience in biological mass spectrometry in both academia and industry in the UK, Canada and USA. During this time he has developed HPLC-mass spectrometry interfaces, methods of analysis for natural products, drug and pesticide analysis, peptide and protein analysis.