Manufacturing Matrix-free Mass Spectrometry Targets

描述（由申请人提供）：这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种新型的集成大规模制造工艺，用于无基质激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱法的新型纳米结构靶基板。这种新的目标底物提供了前所未有的分析能力水平，检测限为阿摩尔浓度，减少样品体积的要求，极低的激光功率要求，并能够检测100和700道尔顿之间的小分子和低于2000道尔顿的肽，不存在混杂基质离子。这种创新的基质技术克服了与传统基质和无基质质谱方法相关的几个关键问题，以允许用于生物分子系统的鉴定和定量的可再现、定量、快速和高灵敏度的检测。在第一阶段，我们将确定将该技术从我们目前的实验室规模制造方法过渡到用于制造该基板的中试规模制造工艺的可行性。具体而言，我们将确定实现高重现性、质量控制和低成本的关键工艺技术，这些技术是大规模生产该系统的基本参数，用于小分子系统的高灵敏度定量分析。在第二阶段，第一阶段的信息将用于开发能够大规模生产目标底物的集成制造系统，用于蛋白质组学，药物发现，基因组学和毒理学领域。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will develop a novel integrated large-scale manufacturing process for an innovative new nanostructured target substrate for matrix-free laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. This novel target substrate provides an unprecedented level of analytical capability with detection limits of attomolar concentrations, reduced sample volume requirements, extremely low laser power requirements, and the ability to detect small molecules between 100 and 700 Daltons and peptides below 2000 Daltons with the absence of confounding matrix ions. This innovative substrate technology overcomes several key issues associated with conventional matrix and matrix-free mass spectrometry methodologies to permit the reproducible, quantitative, rapid and high-sensitivity detection for identification and quantification of biological molecular systems. In Phase I, we will determine the feasibility of transitioning this technology from our current laboratory scale fabrication methodology to a pilot-scale manufacturing process for manufacturing of this substrate. Specifically, we will identify critical process technologies for achieving high reproducibility, quality control and low cost which are essential parameters for large-scale manufacturing of this system for use in high sensitivity, quantitative analysis of small molecule systems. In Phase II, the information in Phase I will be used to develop an integrated manufacturing system capable of large-scale production of target substrates for application into the fields of proteomics, drug discovery, genomics and toxicology.