Development of a Biophysical Mass Spectrometry Facility at ISMB. (360G-Wellcome-090225_Z_09_Z)

In the last decade the use of mass spectrometry as a biophysical tool for the characterisation of protein complexes and protein-ligand interactions has emerged as a powerful complementary technique in structural biology. This rise to prominence is due to technical advances in instrumentation. Initially, the availability of extended m/z range quadrupoles, within quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometers (Q-ToFs), enabled studies on large ions. Most recently, the coupling of ion-mobility with m ass spectrometry (IM-MS) in QToF instruments has combined these structural studies with the ability to elucidate shape information. This has dramatically increased the information available from a single experiment and opened up new avenues of investigation. We will establish a biophysical mass spectrometry facility at the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology through the purchase of a state-of-the-art ion-mobility mass spectrometer and ancillary equipment. This will deliver a new biophy sical facility for the structural analysis of protein interactions, a small molecule screening platform together with an enhanced omics capability. We will offer a range of biophysical and proteomic MS services to the wider physical, medical and life science research community. These services will focus on promoting collaborative links between chemists, biomedical researchers and structural biologists in the area of structural proteomics.