-Joss Rose
The Biotechnology Resource Center (BRC) of the Institute of Biotechnology is excited to announce the launch of a new Metabolomics Facility. The analytical platforms in the facility will include state-of-the-art liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrumentation and software, enabling targeted metabolite profiling and non-targeted discovery, flux analysis and small molecule quantitation. Our experienced staff, including a new hire with experience in plant metabolomic analysis, will support experimental design, sample preparation, data collection and analysis. We expect that the facility will be ready to accept samples by the end of the fall semester.
Metabolomics is the characterization of the complex mixture of metabolites in biofluids, cells and tissues. Metabolomics can be used to compare biological groups, identify biomarkers, understand biological pathways, or discover new metabolites. Metabolomics provides an unprecedented way to look at the relationship between phenotypes and genotypes, and further understand biological mechanisms.
Capturing the metabolome with its diversity of structures and physicochemical properties requires multiple technologies. The identification of unknown metabolites in complex samples without available spectral libraries and databases can be challenging. The BRC staff is happy to work with users and explore solutions for different research projects.
Please contact the facility Director, Dr. Sheng Zhang if you would like additional information.