Multi-User Equipment: QExactive Plus acquisition, thermo scientific for mass spectrometry

Abstract

The hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap QExactive Plus mass spectrometer from Thermo Scientific will be used in all sub-projects within the main project "Rational approach for searching molecular targets involved in inflammatory events and cell survival" for protein identification through proteomics approach in complex sample. This last generation mass spectrometer will allow us to detect proteins at a very low concentration in a complex biological sample, covering a vast dynamic range in both cells in culture and tumor samples extracted from different animals. This equipment presents a very high resolution of up to 140,000 when compared to the similar QTof equipment which reaches 50,000 in resolution. Furthermore, this equipment presents mass accuracy of 1 to 3 ppm in comparison to 5 to 10ppm of different similar equipment. In addition, the QExactive Plus is the only equipment that performs protein quantification using the Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM). This methodology is done by spiking in peptides derived from proteins of interest into the complex sample in order to monitor and quantify them. This methodology, also known as targeted quantification, can perform relative as well as absolute quantification of dozens of proteins simultaneously without the need of determining the entire proteome. Therefore, the QExactive Plus mass spectrometer is important equipment that will allow us for the identification of molecular targets in the discovery mode and the monitoring of the identified targets thought the PRM methodology. (AU)