The BTI Mass Spectrometry Center (BMSC) provides mass spectrometry services to BTI and Cornell University. The instrumentation in the facility is optimized for the analysis of small molecules, facilitating identification of known and unknown metabolites as well as comprehensive metabolic profiling. The facility aims to enable biologists of all levels of expertise to perform mass spectrometric small molecule analyses.
The facility is equipped with a Micromass Quattro II triple-quadrupole spectrometer with MS/MS capabilities, a Varian 1200L GC-MS, and a Micromass Platform LC Mass Spectrometer enabling HPLC-MS, HPLC-MS/MS and GC/MS analyses for structural and biological characterization of metabolites.
Training and assistance with the use of the mass spectrometers, software and data analysis are provided. In addition, the BMSC offers mass spectrometric analyses on a fee-for-service basis.
Equipment
Specific facility components include:
GC-MS: Varian 1200L triple quadrupole MS connected to a Varian CP3800 GC equipped with CombiPal
autosampler, with SPME (solid phase micro-extraction) capability, and flame ionization detector.
HPLC-MS/MS:
Micromass Quattro II triple quadrupole MS connected to a Agilent 1100 series HPLC with glass vial autosampler
and diode array detector.
Waters 2790 HPLC
- Waters 2475 Multi Fluorescence Detector
- Waters 2487 Dual Absorbance Detector
Waters 2695 HPLC
- Waters 2996 Photodiode Array Detector
- Waters 2700 Sample Manager
Services and Rates
Standard fees: $12 for the first hour of GC or HPLC use, independently of the type of detector that is attached to the machine (MS, fluorescence, photodiode array, flame ionization, etc.) $6/h starting in the 2nd hour of reserved HPLC-MS or GC-MS time.
Overnight use: fees are reduced by 50% for all equipment used between 8 pm and 8 am.
Training session for using one or more pieces of equipment: $100 for four hours of initial training. This fee includes any use of the equipment required during that time.
Sample analysis by the facility manager: $25/hour. This fee includes method development and the use of the MS equipment during that time.
No-show fee: There is a charge for the reserved time for no-shows who do not un-reserve equipment at least 24 hours in advance so that others can use it.
Training
Training is available to all researchers at BTI and Cornell University. Users with previous mass spectrometry and/or GC/HPLC experience are required to take at least 4 hours of training. Additional training blocks are available for less experienced users. Training includes method development specifically tailored for each biological application.
Recommended Literature
Plant-related general metabolomics and mass spectrometry papers and books, such as:
Plant Metabolomics (Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry)
Kazuki Saito, Richard A. Dixon , Lothar Willmitzer
Concepts in Plant Metabolomics
B.J. Nikolau, Eve Syrkin Wurtel
Metabolome Analysis: An Introduction (Wiley – Interscience Series on Mass Spectrometry)
Silas G. Villas-Boas , Jens Nielsen, Jorn Smedsgaard, Michael A. E. Hansen , Ute Roessner-Tunali
Mass Spectrometry: A Textbook
Jürgen H. Gross
Towards the plant metabolome and beyond
by Robert L. Last, A. Daniel Jones & Yair Shachar-Hill
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 8, 167-174 (February 2007)
Metabolomics – the link between genotypes and phenotypes
by Oliver Fiehn Plant Molecular Biology Volume 48, Numbers 1-2, 155-171
Mass spectrometry in metabolome analysis
by Villas-Bôas, S. G., Mas, S., Åkesson, M., Smedsgaard, J. & Nielsen
J. Mass Spectrom. Rev. 24, 613–646 (2005)
Software
The facility computers are available for off-line processing and analysis of MS data acquired in the facility. Software includes Waters MassLynx and Varian MS Workstation.
