Chip liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry: a new hyphenated microfluidic instrument for metallomics. An alliance of two Australian universities and a world-leading scientific instrument company will develop innovative technology that will enable new reliable, sensitive and patient-specific medical tests, as well as being used to probe causes of significant diseases that appear to involve trace levels of metals in the body.
Multiplexed bio-imaging mass spectrometry. This project aims to develop technology for simultaneous three-dimensional imaging of trace elements and molecules in biological tissues. This technology is an essential analytical and diagnostic advance to uncover latent mechanistic biology and will reveal subtle metabolic interactions between cells. The project will use laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and lanthanide-conjugated probes to map the zinc metabolic pathway in the ....Multiplexed bio-imaging mass spectrometry. This project aims to develop technology for simultaneous three-dimensional imaging of trace elements and molecules in biological tissues. This technology is an essential analytical and diagnostic advance to uncover latent mechanistic biology and will reveal subtle metabolic interactions between cells. The project will use laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and lanthanide-conjugated probes to map the zinc metabolic pathway in the ageing mouse brain. It is expected to result in a complete imaging solution for quantitative spatial determination of all important elements, co-factors, metabolites and other functional molecules to investigate metabolic pathways which current technologies find difficult or impossible to track. Ultimately this technology is expected to underpin investigations of diseases where trace metal and chemical species dysfunction is implicated.Read moreRead less
Novel semio-chemical approach to control the Australian Sheep Blowfly . The Australian Federal Government through the 'Smart Farming' initiative highlights the need for improved multidisciplinary measures in order to remain at the global forefront of the invention and adoption of technology. This multidisciplinary project (entomology, biotechnology, analytical chemistry and genomics) will rapidly inform the management of fly strike on an important Australian resource merino sheep. This will bui ....Novel semio-chemical approach to control the Australian Sheep Blowfly . The Australian Federal Government through the 'Smart Farming' initiative highlights the need for improved multidisciplinary measures in order to remain at the global forefront of the invention and adoption of technology. This multidisciplinary project (entomology, biotechnology, analytical chemistry and genomics) will rapidly inform the management of fly strike on an important Australian resource merino sheep. This will build the key biochemical data in order to develop a novel fly lure technology (at scale) to be used on farm delivering national benefit through improved animal welfare and safety considerations for producers, and will establish the best approach to disseminate this scientific information to stakeholders such as farmers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0346903
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
LC-MS system for Faculty of Sciences, U.N.E. LC-MS is a technique for investigating the composition of complex mixtures and identifying its components. This instrumentation will be utilised at UNE in a diverse range of analytical investigations to further the research aims of scientists in chemistry, biological sciences, archaeology, physics, environmental sciences, marine science as well as biological researchers in specialised units based at UNE. The extraordinarily versatile capacity of this ....LC-MS system for Faculty of Sciences, U.N.E. LC-MS is a technique for investigating the composition of complex mixtures and identifying its components. This instrumentation will be utilised at UNE in a diverse range of analytical investigations to further the research aims of scientists in chemistry, biological sciences, archaeology, physics, environmental sciences, marine science as well as biological researchers in specialised units based at UNE. The extraordinarily versatile capacity of this technique for analysis and identification of organic substances, from small molecules through to large proteins and complex plant and animal metabolites, will provide impetus for existing research and stimulus for new research directions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100467
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Unravelling the intrinsic structure and stability of multiply charged anions in the gas-phase using photoelectron spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Molecules possessing multiple negative charges are common constituents in chemistry, influencing a range of processes ranging from photochemical smog formation to protein structure in vivo. This project will develop new technologies to probe their molecular structure in the gas-phase, leading to a more rigorous understanding of these species.
Cracking post-translational modification codes in high molecular definition. This project aims to markedly improve the analysis of post-translational modifications (PTM) via intact protein mass spectrometry. Differences in the PTM forms of a protein (modforms) can be crucial in many physiological and metabolic processes. However, current conventional methods cannot accurately separate nor fully assign most protein modforms. A recent discovery has resulted in the ability to separate whole protein ....Cracking post-translational modification codes in high molecular definition. This project aims to markedly improve the analysis of post-translational modifications (PTM) via intact protein mass spectrometry. Differences in the PTM forms of a protein (modforms) can be crucial in many physiological and metabolic processes. However, current conventional methods cannot accurately separate nor fully assign most protein modforms. A recent discovery has resulted in the ability to separate whole protein ions that have the same mass, charge, and collision cross section, but subtly different charge sites. This project aims to leverage this breakthrough by developing novel approaches for separating intact protein modforms and mapping PTM sites. This is expected to be important for future biological discovery.Read moreRead less
Ultrasensitive chemical analysis of single cells by mass spectrometry. This project aims to significantly improve the analysis of single cells by mass spectrometry with ultrahigh sensitivity. Molecular differences between cells in large populations can be important in many processes, including cell differentiation and signalling. However, most measurements result in the chemical heterogeneity between cells being masked by the bulk population. Recent discoveries now make it feasible to measure th ....Ultrasensitive chemical analysis of single cells by mass spectrometry. This project aims to significantly improve the analysis of single cells by mass spectrometry with ultrahigh sensitivity. Molecular differences between cells in large populations can be important in many processes, including cell differentiation and signalling. However, most measurements result in the chemical heterogeneity between cells being masked by the bulk population. Recent discoveries now make it feasible to measure thousands of proteins and small molecules from single cells. This project aims to leverage these breakthroughs to allow heterogeneity to be characterised in single cells with unprecedented molecular detail. This is expected to be important for future biological discovery, as well as disease prediction and drug discovery.Read moreRead less
Differential Isotope Proteome Mapping of Transforming Growth Factor Beta Cell Signalling. Our research will capitalise on Australia's expertise and prior infrastructure investments in frontier, proteomic technologies to elucidate novel intracellular signalling pathways that contribute to the development of cancer. New approaches will be developed using isotopes to provide sensitive and accurate measurements of changes in protein expression levels. This technology will allow us to define complex ....Differential Isotope Proteome Mapping of Transforming Growth Factor Beta Cell Signalling. Our research will capitalise on Australia's expertise and prior infrastructure investments in frontier, proteomic technologies to elucidate novel intracellular signalling pathways that contribute to the development of cancer. New approaches will be developed using isotopes to provide sensitive and accurate measurements of changes in protein expression levels. This technology will allow us to define complex intracellular signalling networks. This is an important step towards identifying new drug targets that are responsible for tumour growth. Australian science will benefit from the training of new scientists in modern, post-genome technologies where there is currently a world shortage of experienced personnel.Read moreRead less
Homogenous Antibody-Metal Conjugates For Immuno-Mass Spectrometry Imaging. This project aims to use bespoke metal labels and high-resolution mass spectrometry imaging to address current shortcomings in approaches that visualise and measure proteins in cells and tissue. It expects to substantially increase the utility of immuno-mass spectrometry imaging technology to analyses that are refractory to current techniques and workflows. Expected outcomes include metal probes that facilitate the spatia ....Homogenous Antibody-Metal Conjugates For Immuno-Mass Spectrometry Imaging. This project aims to use bespoke metal labels and high-resolution mass spectrometry imaging to address current shortcomings in approaches that visualise and measure proteins in cells and tissue. It expects to substantially increase the utility of immuno-mass spectrometry imaging technology to analyses that are refractory to current techniques and workflows. Expected outcomes include metal probes that facilitate the spatial quantification of multiple biomolecules on a single histological section, providing significant benefits to bioscience laboratories that require complex workflows to visualise and obtain quantitative data on the expression of biomolecules.Read moreRead less