The Central Science Laboratory is thrilled to announce that the new Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Imaging instrument system is now available for use in the Organic Mass Spectrometry Facility.
This new technology enables the visualisation, spatial mapping and quantification of organic molecules within complex biological tissue with greater sensitivity and accuracy. It represents a completely new capability for the University and the Tasmanian research community. This technology will underpin advances in existing and emerging areas of international research strength at UTAS including plant and agriculture sciences, medical sciences, ocean monitoring, advanced aquaculture, and food safety.
Specifically, the instrument platform is a Cyclic Ion Mobility Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer integrated with Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (DESI) Imaging capability and is also coupled to the latest technology in ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography. This instrument system is only the second of its kind in Australia and will enable answers to biological questions which were previously not able to be addressed. Tasmanian researchers and national collaborators are now able to apply this leap in technology to areas such as plant hormone research, quantitative metabolomics and lipidomics, and chiral and isomer analysis applications.
The acquisition of this instrument system for our university has been realised through receipt of an ARC LIEF grant in 2022 by team of researchers from the University of Tasmania, in particular lead CI A/Prof Eloise Foo from the School of Natural Sciences, and CSL lead Dr David Nichols, together with collaborators at Monash University and the University of Queensland.
To find out more, and to access this instrument please contact Dr David Nichols at the CSL.
