UHPLC-coupled Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer for Multiple Reaction Monitoring measurements

• Subject Area: Plant Sciences
• Term: Funded in 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 526244010

An UHPLC-coupled Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer for Multiple Reaction Monitoring measurements will be established in the Department of Biology at Universität Hamburg for sensitive and highly selective quantification of defined compounds out of different biochemical matrices. To reduce the complexity of the sample prior to its entrance into the Mass Spectrometer (MS) and to target a broad range of analytes with a high chemical variety, Liquid Chromatography coupling prior to MS will be used. One major application will be the determination of the role of plant-microbe- as well as algae-microbe-interactions in organic matter turnover and carbon fluxes. A major matrix to be studied is the rhizosphere, where complex interactions between plant roots and microbes contribute to soil organic matter transformation and degradation. Rhizospheres will be studied in coastal ecosystems, temperate forests, and wetlands. The role of phytoplankton exudates and phytoplankton-microbe interactions will be studied in marine environments. In addition, carbohydrate turn-over in plant litter and key-metabolites in biofilms will be studied. Beside projects focusing on carbon fluxes, the instrument will also be used in variety of other applications as e.g. the analysis of cardenolide contents in highly specialized herbivorous insects, the quantification of TCA cycle intermediates in C. elegans, the quantification of steroid hormone titers in humans, and the quantification of targeted metabolites in fish embryos. The instrument will be part of the Technology Platform Mass Spectrometry of Universität Hamburg and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Instrument specific Standard Operating Procedures will be written and provided to all users. Access to the instrument will be regulated via user rules of the MS technology platform, which prioritize internal users over external academic users over other external users. The core facility management software will help scheduling measurement times. Data will be locally saved during the measurement and mirrored directly on a second hard drive in the operating computer of the instrument. For permanent data storage, server capacities will be provided by Universität Hamburg through its Regional Computing Center.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: UHPLC-gekoppeltes Tandem-Quadrupol-Massenspektrometer für Multiple Reaction Monitoring-Messungen
• Instrumentation Group: 1700 Massenspektrometer
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hamburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Kai Jensen