Subscribe to Newsletter
Techniques & Tools Mass Spectrometry, Metabolomics & Lipidomics, Proteomics, Translational Science

This Week's Mass Spec News

Credit: Vicki Wysock

Essential Reading

Prototype timsTOF Pro for Native MS
 

Wysocki Lab researchers collaborated with Bruker to adapt a trapped ion mobility spectrometry-Q-TOF mass spectrometer for native mass spectrometry. Their tweaks included changing the geometry of the TIMS cartridge electrodes, operating at 425 kHz to improve the trapping efficiency, lowering the quadrupole radiofrequency, and replacing the collision cell entrance lens. The result? 

“This is the first time a novel prototype timsTOF Pro for nMS has been introduced with high resolving power ion mobility separation coupled to high m/z quadrupole selection and SID for protein complex fragmentation with product ion collection and detection across a broad m/z range of 1,500 to 40,000,” wrote the authors.

The Glycomics Saga 
 

A deep-learning tool for predicting glycan structure from LC-MS/MS data, dubbed CandyCrunch, aims to “democratize structural glycomics and the elucidation of biological roles of glycans.” The researchers from Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and the UK were able to show that CandyCrunch can be used for de novo annotation, diagnostic fragment identification and high-throughput glycomics.

“Structural annotation from tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data is a bottleneck in glycomics, preventing high-throughput endeavors and relegating glycomics to a few experts,” wrote the authors. 

To a Bitter End 
 

In a similar vein… A new machine-learning tool can predict the bitterness of a compound based on mass spec metabolomics data and without the need for structural assignment of individual molecules. BitterMasS, developed by researchers from Israel and the US, was trained on 5,414 experimental mass spectra of bitter and nonbitter compounds, achieving precision of 0.83 and recall of 0.90 for an internal test set. 

“The good performance of BitterMasS suggests applications in food and agriculture,” concluded the authors. “For example, mass spectra from multiple cultivars, samples, treatments, or fractions can be analyzed to predict bitterness. Furthermore, BitterMasS is a unique tool for ‘illuminating’ the bitter-tasting part of the ‘dark’ metabolome.”


NEWS

The Analytical Scientist Presents:

The Mass Spec Weekly Newsletter

Enjoying yourself? There's plenty more where that came from! Our weekly Mass Spec Newsletter brings you the most popular stories as they unfold, chosen by our fantastic Editorial team!

Register for our weekly newsletter

Worth Your Time…

Analysis of Neolithic materials with ZooMS and paleoproteomics offers insight into archaic tool making practices. Link

Takaya Matsuo and colleagues synthesize new molecular dopants that can improve organic electronic device performance, fully characterizing them using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Link  

Researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan, optimize the SWATH-DIA method using a narrow isolation window placement approach, improving its proteomic performance. Link

James S. Prell discusses the importance and potentially untapped utility of ion internal and kinetic energy modeling in modern CID/CIU experiments. Link

Metabolite profiling via targeted and untargeted LC-MS explores soybean defense strategies against diverse pathogens – potentially offering new pathways for bolstering plant resistance against diseases. Link

Receive content, products, events as well as relevant industry updates from The Analytical Scientist and its sponsors.
Stay up to date with our other newsletters and sponsors information, tailored specifically to the fields you are interested in

When you click “Subscribe” we will email you a link, which you must click to verify the email address above and activate your subscription. If you do not receive this email, please contact us at [email protected].
If you wish to unsubscribe, you can update your preferences at any point.

About the Author
James Strachan

Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at.

From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.

 

Related Application Notes
Site-specific differentiation of hydroxyproline isomers using electron activated dissociation (EAD)

| Contributed by SCIEX

High-Resolution Accurate Mass Library for Forensic Toxicology

| Contributed by Shimadzu

Industrial Safety Hazard Monitoring

| Contributed by IONICON

Related Product Profiles
ASMS 2024: Innovations Unveiled

Higher Peaks – Clearly.

| Contributed by Shimadzu Europa

Compact with countless benefits

| Contributed by Shimadzu Europa

Register to The Analytical Scientist

Register to access our FREE online portfolio, request the magazine in print and manage your preferences.

You will benefit from:
  • Unlimited access to ALL articles
  • News, interviews & opinions from leading industry experts
  • Receive print (and PDF) copies of The Analytical Scientist magazine

Register