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Mass Spectrometry Laboratory

The Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at Everson Hall of UC Davis is the home of analytical core laboratories for 

 

 

UC Davis Superfund Research Program
Laboratory of Pesticide Biotechnology
Our Mission
  • Provide state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation and technology

  • Provide and develop analytical methodology for the ongoing scientific projects

  • Provide scientific service and consultation

  • Provide data evaluation tools and computational resources

  • Provide training in the field of mass spectrometry and separation science

Research Interests

Mass Spectrometry Laboratory performs analysis of various biologically active compounds relevant to human health and environmental safety. Excellent sensitivity of modern mass spectrometrers allows detection and quantification of infinitesimal amounts of analytes. Among current target analytes are:

  • pesticides

  • vitamin D metabolites

  • neuropeptides

  • personal care products

 

In addition to providing low detection limits, mass spectrometry is also a very selective technique. Whole families of analytes can be analyzed and quantified during a singe chromatogratphic run. Our lab developed methods for metabolic profiling of following compound classes:

  • oxylipins (prostaglandins, thromboxanes, EETs etc)

  • tryptophan metabolites

 

Finally, a fingerprint of all detectable metabolites can be acquired as unannotated LC/MS or GC/MS peaks of given intensity. In this "Omics" approach first, statistical analysis of acquired data is performed to discover statistically significant markers. Next, structure elucidation is performed to discover the identity of those markers. Our lab is developing methods for metabolic fingerprinting using LC/MS and GC/MS to discover novel small molecule biomarkers of toxic effect and exposure of environmental pollutants such as 1-nitronaphthalene, ozone and arsenic.

Equipment

This facility houses the Analytical Core A. In December of 1987, 4,725 square feet of wet laboratory space became available on the central Davis campus. A campus-wide competition was held to justify this space, and it was awarded to the UC Davis SRP Center. The University provided $120,000 and the School of Veterinary Medicine provided an additional $30,000 for renovations, thereby creating a permanent home for the Analytical Core. The space is equipped with chemical benches, a cold room and 9 fume hoods. This building is centrally located on campus and has led to excellent interaction among Center projects and also serves as a training/research area for investigators using these facilities.

 

We enjoy access to NMR spectrometers available through the campus shared-use NMR Facility. There are a total of 10 spectrometers of varying purposes and capabilities available. Four instruments (2 Mercury-300 MHz, 1 Inova-400 MHz, 1 VNMRS-600 MHz) are largely devoted to structural characterization of organic and inorganic molecules. Two additional instruments (Avance 500 MHz and Avance 600 MHz) are available for solution studies of biomolecules. All the spectrometers are multinuclear and a large variety of solvents are available for use.

 

In addition of our own (see equipment list), over ten mass spectrometers are available through the NIH West Coast Metabolic Center at UC Davis. It includes an Agilent 6550 QTOF mass spectrometer with 1290 UHPLC, a ThermoFisher ion trap LTQ-FTICR mass spectrometer with Advion NanoMate robotic nanoelectrospray, a LECO Citius HR time-of-flight mass spectrometer with Agilent 1200 UHPLC, a AB Sciex QTRAP 4000 mass spectrometer with Waters UPLC, two LECO Pegasus III GC-time of flight mass spectrometers, both with Gerstel automatic liner exchange and cold injection system, a Agilent GC-quadrupole mass spectrometer with autosampler and s/sl, a Agilent 6530 QTOF mass spectrometer with 1290 UHPLC or with GC/APCI interface, a ThermoFisher ion trap LTQ with Surveyor HPLC, a Agilent GC-QTOF mass spectrometer for chemical or electron ionization, and a Agilent GC-quadrupole mass spectrometer with autosampler.

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