IDDRC Core - Proteomics

The Proteomics Center at the Children’s Hospital is equipped with state of the art instrumentation, which allows our researchers to push the limits with biological mass spectrometry experiments. These resources provide a unique opportunity for developing methods that allow cutting edge research. Mass spectrometry is a rapidly evolving field and as such has important implications in several areas of research, including protein biomarker discovery and validation/screening. The reagent / instrumentation costs and lack of expertise are a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of mass spectrometry in many laboratories. Children’s Hospital has invested in equipment that is accessible to all researchers in the community as a pooled resource.

Mass Spectrometers

LTQ-Orbitrap

The LTQ-Orbitrap from Thermo Electron is another hybrid instrument. It combines a linear quadrupole ion trap in the front and a novel resonance mass analyzer at the back end, which has nearly the same mass accuracy as the FT ICR, but better sensitivity. The instrument is fitted for microscale capillary liquid chromatography (Exigent HPLC system) and a micro autosampler (Spark Holland).