Acquisition of a Q-Exactive Plus mass spectrometer.

 描述(由申请人提供)：本提案的目的是向Thermo Science申请最先进的纳米UPLC Q-Exactive Plus质谱仪的资金，我们计划将其整合到加州理工学院(Caltech)贝克曼研究所的蛋白质组探索实验室(PEL)，以取代我们现有的Orbitrap Classic质谱仪，该质谱仪现已达到最大预期寿命，因此，Thermo正在逐步淘汰他们对该仪器的支持。我们要求资助是因为我们目前仪器的技术限制不再能满足越来越多用户的方法学要求，阻碍了NIH资助的项目在我们合作者的实验室中的进展。由于技术创新，Orbitrap Classic在过去几年的巨大仪器发展中不再有效地与当前最先进的技术竞争；因此阻碍了我们在蛋白质组学领域的进步。Q-Exactive Plus还提供了独特的测量能力，因为它的四极滤光器而不是离子陷阱，这将使许多项目能够测试PEL，而我们目前无法进行。PEL成立于2007年，是加州理工学院唯一可以进行基于质谱学的蛋白质组分析的资源中心。PEL最初成立的主要目的是与加州理工大学的学生和博士后合作，开发新的方法，推进他们与蛋白质组学相关的研究。由于其对卓越的承诺，PEL经常能够分析典型设施可能无法成功处理的困难样品。因此，PEL已经发展成为一个中心，也被当地和全州的其他研究人员寻找。我们的蛋白质组学设置取得了压倒性的成功，稳步增加了PEL的需求，并将继续进一步增加。PEL的主要长期目标是能够深入阐明和量化蛋白质组、亚蛋白质组和单个蛋白质，以获得对生物调控过程的基本见解。一种常见的实验范式是监测在用药物或天然配体处理细胞或使它们受到环境或遗传扰动后发生的全球蛋白质变化。Q-Exactive Plus质谱仪与Easy Nano UPLC系统相结合，与我们现有的生物信息学管道协同工作，将在推进跨越广泛基础(开发过程)和应用研究(癌症、细菌感染)的项目方面发挥重要作用。对这些领域的基本洞察将有助于预防和/或治愈以前被认为是不治之症。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this proposal is to request funding for a new state-of-the-art nano UPLC Q-Exactive Plus mass spectrometer from Thermo Scientific, which we plan to integrate into the Proteome Exploration Laboratory (PEL) of the Beckman Institute at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to replace our existing Orbitrap Classic mass spectrometer, which is now reaching the maximum expected lifetime and thus, Thermo is phasing out their support on this instrument. We request funding because technological limitations of our current instruments are no longer meeting methodological demands of the increasing number of users, hampering the progress of NIH-funded projects in the laboratories of our collaborators. Due to technological innovations, the Orbitrap Classic can effectively no longer compete with current state-of-the-art technology as a result of the tremendous instrumentation developments during the past years; and is therefore hindering our advancement in the field of proteomics. The Q-Exactive Plus also offers unique measurement capabilities due to its quadrupole filter rather than an ion trap, which will enable many projects t the PEL that we can currently not carry out. The PEL was established in 2007 and is the only resource center at Caltech where mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses can be performed. The PEL was initially established to primarily collaborate with students and postdoctoral fellows of the Caltech community to develop new methods and advance their proteomics-related research. Due to its commitment to excellence, the PEL is frequently able to analyze difficult samples that typical facilities may not be successful with. As a consequence, the PEL has developed into a center that is also sought out by other researchers as well, local and state-wide. The overwhelming success of our proteomics setup has steadily increased the demand at the PEL and continues to increase further. The main long-term objective of the PEL is to enable the in-depth elucidation and quantification of proteomes, subproteomes and individual proteins to gain fundamental insights into biological regulatory processes. A common experimental paradigm is to monitor global protein changes that occur after either treating cells with drugs or natural ligands; or subjecting them to an environmental or genetic perturbation. A Q-Exactive Plus mass spectrometer coupled with the EASY nano UPLC system, working in concert with our existing bioinformatics pipeline, will play a vital role in advancing projects tha span a broad range of fundamental (developmental processes) and applied studies (cancer, bacterial infections). Fundamental insights into any of these areas will help prevent and/or cure diseases that have previously been considered incurable.