Superfund Research Program

Macromolecular Characterization

Project Leaders: Mark H. Ellisman, Elizabeth A. Komives
Grant Number: P42ES010337
Funding Period: 2000 - 2005

Project-Specific Links

Final Progress Reports

Year:   2004 

Drs. Komives and Ellisman have been mainly developing infrastructure this past year.  In the area of phytochelatin analysis, they have obtained and installed a fluorescence detector interfaced to a high through-put LC with autosampler so that they can do the quantitation of phytochelatins in a high through-put framework.  This is important for the Schroeder lab as now they are generating mutant plants that transport phytochelatins differently so for each mutant plant, they need to analyze the roots, stems, and leaves. 
 
In the area of proteomics the researchers have installed and become operational on the new QSTAR XL, a high resolution qQ-TOF mass spectrometer for nanospray liquid chromatographic separation of peptides from complex mixtures interfaced to a quadrupole time-of flight hybrid mass spectrometer.  It took approximately six months to install this instrument and to become proficient at its operation.  The research team is in the process of hiring a Ph. D.-level operator who will be full-time devoted to proteomics and metabolomics.  This mass spectrometer allows selection of the parent ion and subsequent CID fragmentation for MS/MS sequencing.  The researchers have been analyzing some samples of ITCH, a protein from the Karin lab, as well as some samples from the Tebo lab.  The sequencing is high through-put and very accurate.  They expect to be obtaining much more data from this new instrument in the near future.