Liquid chromatography - mass spectrometer system (1 of 2)

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 559987335

Bioanalytics at TU Berlin under the leadership of Juri Rappsilber request funding for two high-end liquid chromatography - mass spectrometer systems to investigate biocatalytic processes in their cellular context. Of these two systems, one is an off-the-shelf high-resolution, high-sensitivity and high-throughput instrument. The other is a bespoke instrument to push technology development of dynamic range and resolution in MS1 and MS2 beyond currently available off-the-shelf instruments without compromising their sensitivity and throughput, to reduce data interpretation ambiguity and thereby increase the depth and scope of the planned investigations. The research enabled by these instruments aims at understanding and manipulating catalytic processes with a particular emphasis on the interplay between chemical and biological catalysis, to learn from nature and ultimately reduce the dependency of our society on fossil fuels by generating valuable chemicals from H2O, CO2 and other renewable resources. Positioned in Faculty III - Process Engineering, the instruments will enable collaborative activities that cross faculty boundaries into Faculty II - Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Faculty IV - Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at TU Berlin, and institutional boundaries into Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin (FU) Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP). Also, regional and international collaborative activities will be supported, including marine carbon sequestration research centred in Greifswald and novel approaches of in-cell structural investigations within an ERC synergy grant (Heidelberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Baltimore). The volume of collaborative activities cannot be served by a single instrument. In addition, the second instrument having bespoke technology allows to continue pioneering the methodology, which if beneficial can be retrofitted also to the first instruments in future. The collaborative activities will be further facilitated by using the instruments as part of a Centre of Competence in the Cluster of Excellence UniSysCat (spokesperson Juri Rappsilber) which will act as a model facility for the Berlin University Alliance(BUA)’s focus initiative on sharing resources. In this arrangement, we ensure technical competency through past achievements, leadership in methods through ongoing developments, scientific impact through a collaborative network, financial stability covering repair costs and staff, and effective management of administrative matters.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Flüssigchromatographie-Massenspektrometer System (1 von 2)
• Instrumentation Group: 1700 Massenspektrometer
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Berlin
• Leader: Professor Dr. Juri Rappsilber