BIO-ORGANIC BIOMEDICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY RESOURCE

This renewal seeks support to continue to promote and facilitate the
effective and timely usage of the advanced, evolving techniques of
computerized mass spectrometry in solving biochemical, biological and
biomedical research problems involving current questions of recognized
scientific significance at the molecular level. Mass spectrometry will
provide new experimental structural insight in addressing
structure-function issues involving the proteins, carbohydrates and
nucleic acids in molecular cell biology. This program will continue its pro-active role in bringing to the
basic and clinical scientists the experimental benefits of these methods
based upon state-of-the-art instrumentation, by providing the expertise
required to formulate and execute appropriate experimental strategies to
solve their biomedical problems. This is of essential importance since
scientists and clinicians at the forefront of their disciplines have
neither the interest nor the capability in developing advanced mass
spectrometric based methods for use in their own important problem areas.
In addition, the magnitude of necessary capital and operating costs
requires that this technology be made available on a shared national
resource basis. We will continue to provide broad facility faculty and staff
expertise to the biological and biomedical sciences nationally on both a
collaborative and service basis. We will maintain our preeminence
through active research involvement in key areas of structural biology
and medicine, including: 1 ) proteins and glycoconjugates and 2) membrane bound proteins such as enzymes and receptors
in symbiosis with key emphasis on the development of micro sample
handling, derivatization and separation methodologies as well as pursuit
of ultimate sensitivities in tandem mass spectrometry. The program's emphasis is on interdisciplinary research projects that
require molecular identification and are directly related to major
national concerns in human health. These concerns involve the molecular
biology of diseases which are infectious, genetic and of unknown causes.
The Facility faculty are addressing these health problems in fundamental
areas of biochemistry and cell biology such as posttranslational and
xenobiotic modifications of proteins, sequencing of new proteins isolated
from 2-d gels, the nature of protein and lipid glycosylation, protein
function regulation via phosphorylation, glycosylation, etc., protein
tyrosine kinases, receptors, glycolipids, DNA binding proteins, antigen
epitopes, antibody recognition, etc.