Mass Spectrometry News and Research

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Mass spectrometry is an analytical method used to identify different compounds based on the atomic sample constitution of the molecules and their charge state, which enables “blind” analysis of an unknown sample without any prior knowledge of its composition.

Simple blood test can quickly identify 'poor metabolisers'

French researchers have found a way to identify quickly the 5-10% of patients in whom the commonly used painkiller, tramadol, does not work effectively. A simple blood test can produce a result within a few hours, enabling doctors to switch a non-responding patient on to another painkiller, such as morphine, which will be able to work in these patients.

11 Jun 2012

Researchers identify new mitochondrial protein complex linked with type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Metabolic Solutions Development Company, LLC (MSDC) have identified a mitochondrial protein complex through which anti-diabetic drugs exert their insulin sensitizing effects when used to treat patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

11 Jun 2012

Project aims to reduce transmission of infectious diseases on aircraft

A new study is expected to provide the first detailed information on how infectious diseases may be transmitted aboard commercial airliners. Sponsored by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the research will document patterns of passenger movement inside aircraft cabins and inventory the microbes present in cabin air and on surfaces such as tray tables and lavatory fixtures.

8 Jun 2012

Lung changes in association with ACPA status are a primary manifestation of RA

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that lung changes in association with anti-citrullinated protein autoantibody (ACPA) status are a primary manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

8 Jun 2012

Study identifies 29 potential DS biomarker proteins in maternal serum

Prenatal screening for Down syndrome (DS) is still in need of improvement. Perinatal medicine experts have worked hard to find new biomarkers for screening of DS. Dr. Shi he Shao and his co-investigators, from Jiangsu University and Changzhou Woman and Children Health Hospital, report in the May 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine that they have successfully identified twenty-nine differentially expressed proteins in maternal serum from pregnancies carrying DS fetuses with proteomic approaches.

8 Jun 2012

New molecular test panel to enhance reliability of thyroid biopsy testing

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced a new molecular test panel designed to help physicians determine if a thyroid gland is cancerous and requires surgical removal.

From Quest Diagnostics 2 Jun 2012

SRI, ChromaDex form collaboration on METLIN database

ChromaDex Corporation, an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary, science-based solutions and ingredients to the dietary supplement, food & beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, announced today that it has formed a collaboration with The Scripps Center for Metabolomics to generate tandem mass spectrometry data for compounds from the ChromaDex natural products and phytochemical catalog.

1 Jun 2012

Secreted vesicles play role in spread of cancer

Cancer researchers have known for well over a century that different tumor types spread only to specific, preferred organs. But no one has been able to determine the mechanisms of organ specific metastasis, the so-called "soil and seed" theory of 1889. New details that could help shed light on this hypothesis have been provided by a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and their collaborators, proposing a new mechanism controlling cancer metastasis that offers fresh diagnostic and treatment potential.

29 May 2012

New technique more sensitive in detecting bone loss than X-ray method

Are your bones getting stronger or weaker? Right now, it's hard to know. Scientists at Arizona State University and NASA are taking on this medical challenge by developing and applying a technique that originated in the Earth sciences. In a new study, this technique was more sensitive in detecting bone loss than the X-ray method used today, with less risk to patients. Eventually, it may find use in clinical settings, and could pave the way for additional innovative biosignatures to detect disease.

29 May 2012

Study reveals why people develop life-threatening drug allergies

A research team led by the University of Melbourne and Monash University, Australia, has discovered why people can develop life-threatening allergies after receiving treatment for conditions such as epilepsy and AIDS.

25 May 2012

AB SCIEX, Prosolia enter technology license agreement

Prosolia, Inc. and AB SCIEX announced today that they have entered into a license agreement for technologies developed by Dr. Gary Van Berkel and his colleagues of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 22 May 2012

Quest Diagnostics introduces four new tests panels for CAH

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, has extended its endocrine diagnostics menu with the introduction of four new tests panels for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), an endocrine disorder found in newborns, children and women.

From Quest Diagnostics 19 May 2012

New system detects residues of livestock drugs in baby food preparations

The quantities are very small, but in milk powder and in meat-based baby food, residues of drugs given to livestock were found. Researchers from the University of Almeria have developed a system to analyse these substances quickly and precisely.

19 May 2012

Shimadzu expands Ultra Fast Mass Spectrometry product portfolio

Shimadzu Corporation today introduced the GCMS-TQ8030 ultra fast triple quadrupole gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, achieving the next step forward in Shimadzu's GC-MS history of innovation.

18 May 2012

CHDI, KineMed partner to investigate turnover rates of huntingtin protein

KineMed, Inc. and CHDI Foundation, Inc. announced today a collaboration to use KineMed's isotopic labeling and dynamic proteomics platform to investigate the turnover rates of huntingtin protein, a mutant form of which plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD).

15 May 2012

Researchers barcode different strains of influenza virus and HRSV

Dr Julian Hiscox and Dr John Barr of the University's Faculty of Biological Sciences are working with the Health Protection Agency Porton (HPA) to build a bank of molecular signatures that will help identify the severity of virus infection from characteristic changes seen in cells. Currently the team is barcoding different strains of influenza virus and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) - a virus associated with the onset of asthma in young children.

14 May 2012

Final results from Alnylam’s ALN-TTR01 Phase I trial on TTR-mediated amyloidosis

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today final results from its completed Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTR01, an RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

11 May 2012

Mini-Lecture Series from ARUP Laboratories

ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory, is pleased to announce its Mini-Lecture Series during the annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society in Honolulu.

8 May 2012

Expression of tyrosine kinases may limit effectiveness of agents against sarcomas

To better understand the signaling pathways active in sarcomas, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center used state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based proteomics to characterize a family of protein enzymes that act as "on" or "off" switches important in the biology of cancer. The tyrosine kinases they identified, the researchers said, could act as "drivers" for the growth and survival of sarcomas.

2 May 2012

Scientists identify how cell architecture changes during formation of gametes

Scientists using high-powered microscopes have made a stunning observation of the architecture within a cell - and identified for the first time how the architecture changes during the formation of gametes, also known as sex cells, in order to successfully complete the process.

2 May 2012