ESI Q-TOF Mass Spectrometer with UHPLC

在慕尼黑工业大学（TUM）的生物分子和生物医学研究框架内，蛋白质既是研究对象——关于生物催化或受体结合活性以及结构分析——也是细胞生物学、生物医学和动物实验中的生物活性试剂。为此，需要高纯度和生物化学精确表征的蛋白质制剂，而电喷雾电离质谱（ESI-MS）提供了完整蛋白质分子组成的最终和充分记录的证据。ESI-MS提供了必要的信息，既可以确认基因编码突变（作为自然变异或蛋白质工程的结果），也可以识别翻译后修饰，这可能因宿主生物而异。在这种情况下，蛋白质组学方法的价值有限，因为基于多肽的质谱法只能提供有关多肽分离片段的信息。深入了解蛋白质的完整组成甚至蛋白质制剂的均匀性（通过直接注射而无需先前的色谱分离测量）只能通过配备适当的ESI-MS仪器来实现，该仪器甚至允许在适当的测量条件下分析蛋白质和分子相互作用伙伴（金属离子，小分子配体，核酸，其他蛋白质）之间的复合物。今天，在著名的科学期刊上发表文章通常需要这些数据，并且还有助于在动物研究和转化生物医学研究中对蛋白质应用的质量控制。由于慕尼黑工业大学生命科学校区Weihenstephan的一台使用了10年的仪器在最近制造商的维修期满后即将停止使用，因此根据目前的技术状况，需要一台新的ESI Q-TOF UHPLC质谱仪。一方面，这项投资将为TUM在蛋白质科学方面具有国际竞争力的研究提供仪器基础，特别是在蛋白质工程与设计领域，包括其与非天然氨基酸共翻译结合的进步；另一方面，TUM的这一独特仪器将促进国际层面上的生命科学研究，不仅在Weihenstephan生命科学学院以及TUM的其他学院，而且在与慕尼黑大学医院rets der Isar （MRI）的多次合作框架内。通过与Weihenstephan校区的巴伐利亚生物分子质谱中心（BayBioMS）的合作，将保证专业操作和用户的广泛访问。

In frame of the biomolecular and biomedical research at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) proteins serve both as research subjects – with regard to biocatalytic or receptor binding activities as well as structural analysis – and as bioactive reagents in cell biology, biomedicine and animal experiments. To this end, highly pure and biochemically precisely characterized protein preparations are needed while electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) provides final and well documented proof of the molecular composition of the intact protein. ESI-MS offers essential information, both to confirm genetically encoded mutations (either as natural variations or as result of protein engineering) and to identify posttranslational modifications, which may vary depending on the host organism. In this context, proteomics methods are of limited value since peptide-based mass spectrometry just provides infomation about isolated segments of a polypeptide. Insight into the complete composition of a protein or even the homogeneity of a protein preparation (as measured by direct injection without previous chromatographic fractionation) is only available by means of a suitably equipped ESI-MS instrument, which even allows the analysis of complexes between proteins and molecular interaction partners (metal ions, small molecule ligands, nucleic acids, other proteins) under appropriate measurement conditions. Such data are generally required today for publications in renowned scientific journals and are also instrumental as quality control for the application of proteins in animal studies as well as in translational biomedical research. Since a 10 year-old instrument at the life science campus Weihenstephan of TUM will soon face cease of use after the recent expiry of the manufacturer's maintenance, a new ESI Q-TOF mass spectrometer with UHPLC according to the current state of technology is requested. This investment will, on the one hand, provide the future instrumentation basis for internationally competitive research at TUM in protein science, especially in the area protein engineering & design and including its advancement with the cotranslational incorporation of non-natural amno acids; on the other hand, this unique instrument at TUM will boost research in the life sciences at international level, not only at the School of Life Sciences in Weihenstephan as well as other Schools of TUM but also in the frame of multiple collaborations with the Munich University Hospital rechts der Isar (MRI). The professional operation and broad access by users will be guaranteed via affiliation with the Bavarian Center for Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry (BayBioMS) at the Campus Weihenstephan.