MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer

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A high-resolution MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer is to be procured for the Bio-Mass Spectrometry (Bio-MS) unit in the Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy at Freie Universität Berlin. This will replace the Bruker Ultraflex II MALDI-TOF/TOF, which was applied for in 2006 and has been an indispensable part of the Bio-MS unit ever since. The MALDI-TOF/TOF technology complements the two LC-coupled ESI-Orbitrap-MS instruments, so that a wide range of analytical problems can be addressed. The MALDI-TOF technology is particularly suitable for rapid and robust identification and characterization of a broad spectrum of biomolecules as well as other substance classes (e.g. polymers) and often provides complementary results to the ESI-MS technology. For many applications, which are described in detail in the application, a combination of both technologies is therefore advantageous. For highly complex samples, which are typically present in classical proteomics experiments, chromatographic separation of the peptides is necessary, so LC-ESI-MS technology is used here. In contrast, for less complex samples, MALDI technology without chromatographic separation is usually preferred. This is mainly due to the direct fast analysis and the simplicity of the generated spectra. Also, the theoretically unlimited mass range of the TOF mass analyzer is particularly conducive to the analysis of large proteins or molecular assemblies. Especially for electrochemically unstable analytes, the use of MALDI is also more suitable compared to ESI, since oxidation and reduction processes can occur at the metal capillary during the ESI process. In order to be able to optimally deal with the numerous and diverse questions of the different working groups, equipping our facility with both technologies (MALDI-TOF as well as LC-ESI-Orbitrap) is therefore essential. After 15 years of operation, the currently used instrument is no longer state of the art in terms of speed, resolution and sensitivity, and support from Bruker is no longer guaranteed since 2017. In addition to the use of the instrument as part of the BioSupraMol instrument facility (Bio-MS area), some groups have a special need that is covered by a separate usage share. Detailed project descriptions can be found in section 3. The use as part of the BioSupraMol instrument center is outlined in the operation and use concept in section 2.2.