IDBR: TYPE A - Development of an In situ Single-cell Mass Spectrometer for Mapping Small-molecule Expression in the Developing Embryo

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An award is made to the George Washington University to develop a device that will be able to measure the production of broad types of biomolecules in multiple, individual cells of the developing embryo. This project will enhance education by integrating biology and chemistry, and provide new investigative tools to raise creative research opportunities in basic and applied research. Development of the single-cell mass spectrometer will require regular interactions between analytical chemists, biologists, mass spectrometrists, and curators of data repositories, essentially creating an interdisciplinary environment for students and researchers to accomplish training beyond the classical curriculum in these disciplines. By demonstrating the device at the George Washington University and discussing its design, performance, and use at national conferences and publications, this work will broaden scientific literacy and inform of the availability of the device to a broader base of users. Data resulting from measurements on the production of biomolecules during embryogenesis will be disseminated in publicly accessible data repositories, providing a larger number of users with access to facilitate research and education in cell and developmental biology and neuroscience. Notably, the combination of these scientific and outreach elements, including participation of local high-school students in the project, will enhance research and education at the interface of biology, instrument development, and analytical chemistry, providing interdisciplinary solutions to current and future challenges in science and education. Characterization of biomolecular expression in single cells of the embryo will provide new insights into basic biochemical mechanisms that orchestrate embryonic development, the complex suite of processes by which a fertilized egg gives rise to an entire, fully functioning organism such as the frog, fish, or human. Although it has been technologically feasible to measure genes and transcripts in single embryonic cells, a lack of analytical technology has so far hindered the characterization of proteins, peptides, and metabolites in single embryonic cells. This project will provide one such technological innovation, a single-cell mass spectrometer, by combining traditional tools in cell and developmental biology and neuroscience with next-generation instrumentation from bioanalytical chemistry. Specifically, optical microscopy, microinjection, microcapillary electrophoresis, and nanoelectrospray ionization will be adapted to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry to determine the production of biomolecules, proteins to metabolites, in multiple cells of the embryo using the frog Xenopus laevis and zebrafish as models. The instrument will be developed in collaboration with leading mass spectrometric industry, biologists, and students, and will be tested by biologists and students working with these important developmental models.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.