Techniques & Tools Mass Spectrometry, Environmental, Translational Science, Proteomics

This week's Mass Spec News

Fighting opioids with DESI-MS, FeMS+ in IMSC 2024, Caspian seals versus POPs and more…

08/16/2024 | 4 min read | News

Opioid overconsumption and misuse has led to a public health crisis – with opioid overdose accounting for 650,000 deaths in the US since 1999.

Developing antagonists for these drugs requires accurate characterization of opioid receptors (ORs). With that in mind, Yunfei Feng and her colleagues from Graham Cooks’ lab at Purdue University, USA, have developed an alternative, high-throughput and label-free method for OR binding assays using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS).

This technique overcomes the limitations of traditional radiometric assays, such as safety concerns and labor intensity. Their DESI-MS platform combines robotics and ambient ionization – enabling it to process up to 6144 samples per slide with a throughput of approximately 1 Hz. This approach also demonstrated high sensitivity and was validated by dose-response studies.

“We anticipate that these capabilities, together with those for reaction screening and nanoscale synthesis, together with predictive computational tools, will allow consolidation of the early drug discovery workflow around a single technology,” concluded the authors in their paper.

Researchers combine ultrasound-assisted emulsification-microextraction and GC-MS to detect benzotriazoles – an emerging contaminant – in 38 percent of wastewater samples from a meat processing facility. Link

An automated workflow combining ozone-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (OzID-MS) and the LipidOz software could enhance depth of lipidomics analysis. Link

Scientists use UHPLC-MS/MS to detect etomidate acid (ET), with 92 percent accuracy, in hair samples from persons who smoked illicit e-cigarettes containing ET. Link

Exposure of Caspian seals to persistent organic pollutant contamination found to be below an alarming threshold, suggests analysis with high-resolution accurate mass (HRAM) spectrometry. Link

Eliza Peter and colleagues successfully establish a processing workflow for endometabolomic profiling of glacier ice algae – combining mass spec, FlowCam and photophysiological analysis (PAM). Link

Speaking of women’s representation, we recently spoke with Nicola Gray – IMSC Local Organising Committee member and Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine, Murdoch University, Australia – and discussed inclusivity and diversity:

“As an active member of the Females in Mass Spectrometry (FeMS+) initiative, the prioritization of a diverse program of speakers, short course leaders and workshop organizers is particularly fantastic to see. FeMS+ is a community-led initiative to support women in the field of mass spectrometry, and will have a big presence at the conference so please come and say hello!”

FeMS chair and co-founder Anne Bendt will also be presenting at this year’s IMSC, alongside other female scientists, such as Yu Xia, Jana Roithova and Melanie Downs – all of whom were represented in our recent article featuring a selection of speakers from IMSC 2024.

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