Project Details
Projekt
High resolution mass-spectrometer
Subject Area
Medicine
Term
Funded in 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445757098
The comprehensive analysis of small endogenous molecules can contribute to the elucidation of biochemical processes and (patho-)physiological mechanisms in the human body. This type of analysis has a high potential for finding solutions for scientific issues of systems medicine as well as assisting in the stratification of patients. The latest developments in the area of high resolution mass spectrometry enable the simultaneous determination of a variety of (small) molecules. Metabolomics and lipidomics methods using high resolution mass spectrometry have the advantage, over other types of omics methods, that the changes in the lipid or metabolite profile are time-wise closely related with the clinical phenotype as well as disease activity. These investigations facilitate the identification of biomarkers which can improve the early diagnosis of diseases, allow the prediction of comorbidities and improve the selection of appropriate therapies as well as elucidate the mechanisms of diseases.The analytical department of the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology specializes on the analysis and quantification of small molecules using targeted LC-MS/MS-methods and has over 20 years of experience in this field. The institute of Clinical Pharmacology and its analytical department are part of the LOEWE research center for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology in Frankfurt (Speaker: Gerd Geisslinger). The scientists of the research center focus on the search of active ingredients for medical compounds, the development of preclinical and clinical models as well as clinical research with the goal to bring research ideas into practice. The LOEWE research center combines the expertise and methods platforms of the participating partners allowing for a successful implementation of translational research. Furthermore, the analytical department works in close cooperation with a variety of partners from the university Frankfurt as well as other universities in Germany and Europe and is an essential part of networking projects like the CRC 1039 “Signalling by fatty acid derivatives and sphingolipids in health and disease”.The purchase of a high resolution mass spectrometer of the latest generation will allow the analytical department to expand its capabilities in the determination of endogenous compounds within current and future research projects. The objective is to establish a method platform to conduct research in the field of non-target lipidomics and metabolomics. These techniques will be used in the determination of small molecules in cell samples, animal model experiments as well as human clinical research. These research efforts will lead to the identification of potential biomarkers, and the elucidation of biochemical processes and (patho-)physiological mechanisms hence finding solutions for scientific issues of systems medicine.
DFG Programme
Major Research Instrumentation
Major Instrumentation
Hochauflösendes Massenspektrometer
Instrumentation Group
1700 Massenspektrometer
Applicant Institution
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
