Applied mass specrometry in occupational allergen monitoring and in biomass to bio-fuels/chemicals research

这项研究计划利用我们现有的质谱学设施在两个项目主题中进行基础研究：(1)开发合适的质谱学(MS)方法来识别和测量贝类加工厂中的空气中致敏蛋白，以及学校中的霉菌孢子；(2)解决生物质热解转化领域可再生第二代生物燃料/化学品研究中的分析挑战。 空气中的过敏原在大西洋加拿大特别重要，那里职业性螃蟹哮喘在许多植物中很普遍，迫切需要对过敏原进行监测。室内霉菌与呼吸健康影响和过敏有关。目前还没有足够灵敏的可靠方法来识别空气中的霉菌或它们的过敏蛋白。将进行生物活性蛋白的鉴定，并利用串联MS对目标蛋白进行多肽质量指纹图谱和从头测序，为每个目标蛋白选择用于定量的每个过敏原的唯一替代多肽。 最近，科学界对生物质热解转化为生物燃料和化学品的技术越来越感兴趣。这种可再生的、碳中性的能源或化学原料有可能取代石油衍生燃料。然而，热解油是属于不同产品组的各种有机物的复杂混合物。油的复杂组成是由于生物质原料的主要成分(纤维素、半纤维素和木质素)在热解时发生了大量反应。为了深入了解裂解油及其原料的分子组成，我们的团队将开发强大的基于MS的方法，以快速筛选常见的生物质原料并识别不需要的二次反应/产物。最后，将研究微波辅助热解作为传统热解加热的替代方案。热化学生物炼油厂的研究对加拿大尤为重要。鉴于我们巨大的可再生生物质财富，我们拥有很大的利害关系。

This research program utilizes our established mass spectrometric facilities to undertake fundamental research in two project themes: (1) To develop suitable mass spectrometric (MS) methods to identify and measure airborne allergenic proteins in shellfish processing plants, and mould spores in schools and (2) To address analytical challenges in renewable, second generation bio-fuels/ chemicals research in the area of pyrolytic conversion of biomass. Airborne allergens are of particular importance in Atlantic Canada where occupational crab asthma is prevalent in many plants and there is an urgent need for allergen monitoring. Indoor mould is associated with respiratory health effects and allergies. There are no reliable methods sensitive enough to identify airborne moulds or their allergenic proteins. Identification of bioactive proteins will be performed and target proteins characterized by peptide mass fingerprinting and de novo sequenced using tandem MS. A unique surrogate peptide for each allergen will be selected for each target protein for quantitation purposes. Technologies for the pyrolytic conversion of biomass to bio-fuels and chemicals have recently received increased interest from the scientific community. This renewable, carbon-neutral energy source or chemical feedstock has the potential to displace petroleum-derived fuels. However, the pyrolysis oil is a complex mixture of a broad range of organics belonging to different product groups. The complex composition of the oil is due to the large number of reactions taking place when pyrolysing the main components of the biomass feedstock (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin). To gain insights into the molecular composition of pyrolysis oil and its feedstock, our team will develop robust MS-based methods to rapidly screen common biomass feedstocks and to identify unwanted secondary reactions/products. Finally, microwave-assisted pyrolysis will be investigated as an alternative to conventional pyrolysis heating. Thermochemical biorefinery research is particularly important for Canada. We have a major stake given our enormous wealth of renewable biomass.