In this proposal, the Assay Services Unit, a core lab at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) requests a Sciex 6500+ LC-MS/MS with ExionLC AD to enhance capabilities and improve throughput. The Assay Services Unit provides NIH-funded investigators validated quantitation of biomarkers in biological samples for a variety of species. The ultra-sensitivity afforded by increased ion transfer, the expanded mass range and fast polarity switching of this mass spectrometer will serve 3 major aims: 1) Provide the ability to create quantitative peptide/protein panels utilizing capabilities that only exist with state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS, 2) Expedite development of methods in the method development queue that are critical to NIH-funded research for Major and Minor Users and 3) Provide Users with reduced turn-around time for data and serve as a secondary instrument for uninterrupted progress through the sample queue. As presented in this proposal, there are 8 Major NIH-funded and 4 Minor Users that demonstrate a strong need for the methods that will be developed on the requested instrument to facilitate their research. Acquisition of the Sciex 6500+ will advance health goals in a number of diverse fields which include improving outcomes after neonatal brain injury, understanding psychosocial determinants of healthy aging and determination of the biological effects of displacement due to political conflict in mothers and children. The Major and Minor User group for the new Sciex 6500+ includes 12 investigators from the WNPRC, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and from academic institutions outside of UW-Madison. These Users include established investigators with developed research programs and many years of funding as well as early career investigators. The requested instrument will join the suite of assay methodologies that are offered in the Unit and permit Assay Services to create new, cutting-edge methods. The Unit has a record of almost 40 years of documented success in utilizing new technology to develop validated assays that provide data of high rigor and reproducibility.
In this proposal, we request funds for a liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC- MS/MS) system for the Assay Services Unit at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC). This instrument will be used by NIH-funded investigators to detect and measure amounts of specific substances in biological samples collected during studies on aging, nutrition, puberty, animal welfare, brain injury, mental health and physiological conditions (liver disease and polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS]). The requested equipment will support development of novel rigorous and reproducible methods for biomarker measurement and facilitate rapid data acquisition to enhance the pace of scientific discovery.
