Services

Available equipment:

 

Highlighted below are the major research instruments incorporated by the Metabolite Profiling Facility for small molecule Metabolite.

  TOP imageWaters Micromass LCT Premier (TOF), coupled to HPLC. The instrument is an easy to use benchtop mass spectrometer that utilizes a high-resolution time-of-flight (TOF) analyzer to enable automated exact mass measurements. The TOF analyzer utilizes W-Optics, a novel method for enhancing resolution that provides up to 10,000 FWMH resolution. The use of in-source collision induced dissociation (CID) can also yield structural information.  This system is coupled with a Waters CapLS System cap/nano 1-D HPLC system capable of microliter and nanoliter flow rates.  Similarly, the MS is equipped with regular and nano electrospray ionization sources.               
 
  TOF imageWaters Micromass Q-Tof micro, coupled to HPLC.  The instrument is a high resolution time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer that enables automated exact mass measurements.  The instrument features a quadrupole mass filter and collision cell prior to the TOF for MS/MS analyses.  This powerful combination delivers exact mass measurement of fragment ions to yield increased confidence in structural elucidation and database searching.  This instrument is coupled with a Waters 2795 Alliance HPLC system, with autosampler and photodiode array (PDA) detector.  The MS is equipped with electrospray and APCI ionization sources. 
 
  MSD image

Agilent MSD/TOF, coupled to HPLC. The instrument utilizes an innovative analog-to-digital (ADC) acquisition system that offers high resolution mass accuracy over a wide dynamic range.  The  automated calibrant delivery system and dual-nebulizer electrospray ion source of the LC/MSD TOF can continuously introduce reference mass compounds at very low levels. This results in outstanding mass accuracy, typically less than 3 ppm. This instrument is coupled with an Agilent 1100HPLC system, with autosampler and photodiode array (PDA) detector. Two such instruments are available to the MPF.
 
  LECO image

LECO Pegasus 4D GCxGC-TOF. This instrument can be operated as either a GC/MS or a GCxGC/MS.  When used in GCxGC mode, it is possible to separate and detection hundreds-to-thousands of compounds in a single sample.  This would not be possible by conventional GC/MS. Separations, which previously resulted in dozens or hundreds of peaks, now yield thousands of individual components from complex mixtures.  The powerful, easy-to-use ChromaTOF® software simplifies component identification by employing integrated NIST database searches. Other unique processing capabilities (such as sample comparisons) allow for automated mining of complex GCxGC data sets to extract previously unidentifiable similarities and differences.   Ionization is performed using electron impact (EI).  The upper mass limit for this instrument is 1,000 daltons.  Different derivitization schemes are routinely employed to asssit in sample volatility.  Two such instruments are available to the MPF.

Bioinformatics Consultation

Bioinformatics consultation for the MPF is provided through a collaborative effort that includes Discovery Park’s Bindley Bioscience Center, the e-Enterprise Center, the Cyber Center, and the Discovery Park Applications Development team. The Computational Life Sciences and Informatics Core of the Bindley Bioscience Center provides a senior informatics scientist and a post-doc devoted to modeling of complex data sets. Programming services are available through the experienced Discovery Park Applications Development (DPAD) team on a favorable hourly rate or project-based basis and in collaboration with Discovery Park’s e-Enterprise and Cyber Centers.       

Hardware at the Bindley Core includes 8 single or double cpu servers with either Linux or Windows operating systems, as well as a Dell 14 node Linux cluster for alignment and identification of peptides and metabolites. Software includes metabolite identification packages from Waters and Leco, the gene library system from GeneTac, Spotfire, and multiple protein identification packages (Sequest, Spectrum Mill, Mascot, !XTandem, Peaks, Lutefisk, etc.). The Genologics Proteus Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) was installed early in 2006 for proteomics sample and data management, with Metabus LIMS expected to be available by late 2006. An electronic laboratory notebook has been developed and implemented in-house in cooperation with the e-Enterprise Center. A Center Microsoft Sharepoint space is establish for data sharing and project management.



Robotics

The Integrated Screening Technologies facility at the Bindley Bioscience Center includes 2 Bio-mek FX robotics systems for liquid handling, one with a Chroma-tek plate hotel. A Q-Pix II replication/picking robot is available for screening and isolation of expression constructs along with several PCR instruments including an MJ Research Dyad dual peltier block system. In addition to various plate fillers and washers both an MD UV-vis and a JY Fluromax 3 fluorescence reader are available for microtiter plate assay read-out.