Hybrid mass spectrometer with liquid chromatography system

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine ; Microbiology, Virology and Immunology
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 492697668

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a central technology in biomedical and basic research. Defined standards, protocols, and software make it accessible to a broad research community. High-throughput mass spectrometry (HT-MS) forms a new branch within proteomics and metabolomics and enables the generation of high-quality data sets (100s – 1000s of samples) for epidemiological studies as well as complex systems biology experiments. New methods of statistics, systems medicine and computer science (machine and deep learning) boost HT-MS with immense potential, e.g. to map developmental processes in detail over time, to understand microbiomes, to predict the course of diseases, to stratify patients (e.g. for personalized therapy) and to investigate complex disease mechanisms. The structure of a high-throughput proteomics platform differs in key elements from conventional processes. Due to the high number of samples, individual analyses med to be faster and cheaper. To assure comparability of data over the years, technical sources of variability, e.g., batch effects, can be precisely determined. This is achieved by specialized experimental, technical and organizational processes. In the last 18 months, the ‘Facility HT-Mass Spectrometry’ was able to establish the infrastructure for samples of high analyte concentration (e.g. plasma/serum, cells from culture). Ongoing analyses already cover more than 10,000 human and other eukaryotic proteomes, including studies on COVID19, the factors influencing cognition after anesthesia, and compound screens. Currently, 6,000 samples from the 100,000 Genomes Project, 4,000 subjects from the CHRIS study (Alpine population study by the EURAC Institute), and 1,400 samples for the EPIC-Interact study on type 2 diabetes (MRC Cambridge) are in progress. As a result, the Charité Core Facility HT-MS has quickly established itself as one of the few European proteomics centers with high-throughput capacity. The instrument we are applying for complements the platform for projects with limited source material. The current lack of such a capacity excludes central projects of basic research (e.g. FACS-sorted cells, primary cultures, stem cells, FFPE sections, liquid, and microbiospies).

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Hybrid-Massenspektrometer mit Flüssigkeitschromatographie-System
• Instrumentation Group: 1700 Massenspektrometer
• Applicant Institution: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Leader: Dr. Michael Mülleder