Metabolomics is increasingly utilized and essential to biomedical research, with broad applications extending to the clinic. This potential is inhibited by the limitations of current platforms that are largely based upon either the combination of chromatography separations with mass spectrometry (MS) or by MS alone. The objective of this project is to develop a new ultra-high resolution and ultra-sensitive platform that will enable much higher quality and more comprehensive metabolomics measurements than previously feasible and to do so with significant gains in measurement throughput. The key developments will involve the implementation of greatly improved ion mobility (IM) separations providing much greater resolution, higher speed, broader applicability to metabolite chemical classes, and improved sensitivity and measurement dynamic range in conjunction with mass spectrometry (MS). The new IM-MS platform development efforts will include the essential platform control and data acquisition capabilities and result in a platform ready for initial metabolomics applications, as well as a foundation for its rapid dissemination.
This project will develop a novel platform for ultra-high resolution and sensitive ion mobility separations in conjunction with mass spectrometry (IM-MS) for greatly advancing metabolomics studies. The new platform will have broad applicability for clinical and biomedical applications of metabolomics research, providing large gains in metabolite identification coverage, measurement throughput, sensitivity and other data qualities compared to existing platforms.
