Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) for Mass Spectrometry Based Imaging

用于基于质谱成像的解吸电喷雾电离 (DESI)

• 批准号: RTI-2017-00236
• 负责人: Urquhart, Bradley
• 金额: $ 10.93万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=616604
• 关键词: Desorption; Electrospray; Ionization; DESI; Mass

Metabolites are produced from nearly every process, in every tissue in our body. Current techniques to measure these metabolites are crude in that they allow researchers to know only the amount in a specific tissue. The problem with this is that tissues themselves are complex in that they contain many different cell types each with a different purpose. We are requesting a sophisticated piece of equipment called a DESI source to be added to a mass spectrometer that already exists in our lab. The combination of the DESI source and the mass spectrometer will allow multiple researchers to visualize the specific location of various metabolites, lipids and neurotransmitters in tissues which will allow us to learn more about what these metabolites are doing in various tissues in our body. This represents a major advance from current technologies as we will be able to investigate practically any of the thousands of metabolites produced during the normal functioning of all of our major organs. This infrastructure will be useful to many research programs. The principal applicant studies different metabolites in the body and how they regulate the way that the body handles (metabolizes and eliminates) drugs. The way the body handles drugs is important because it varies substantially amongst the population. This results in some people that have the intended beneficial effect of the drug while others experience unwanted toxic side effects. The infrastructure will facilitate studies that allow us determine how a particular area of any organ in the body is impacted by changes in metabolite levels compared to another area of the same organ. This will help elucidate the reasons why the population varies substantially in their response to medications. Many other research programs will benefit from the requested infrastructure as well. The new metabolite visualization tool we are requesting will help us learn what happens to the brain when it degenerates over time. It will also help us learn the impact of maternal exposure to toxic compounds on fetal development, the specific metabolic beneficial effects of exercise, metabolic changes in the spine, and how multiple levels of metabolites change as cells grow.

代谢物几乎是在我们身体的每一个组织的每一个过程中产生的。目前测量这些代谢物的技术还很粗糙，因为它们只允许研究人员知道特定组织中的含量。问题是组织本身很复杂，因为它们包含许多不同类型的细胞，每种细胞都有不同的用途。我们要求将一种称为DESI源的精密设备添加到我们实验室已经存在的质谱仪中。DESI源和质谱仪的结合将使多个研究人员能够可视化各种代谢物、脂质和神经递质在组织中的具体位置，这将使我们能够更多地了解这些代谢物在我们体内各种组织中的作用。这代表了当前技术的重大进步，因为我们将能够研究我们所有主要器官正常运作过程中产生的数千种代谢物中的任何一种。