Acquisition of a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometer - a team of NIH-funded investigators requests a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometer (maldi-MS),…

The National Institutes of Health Office of the Director awarded Clarkson University $349,999 under Assistance Listing 93.859 (Biomedical Research and Research Training) on September 1, 2026, to acquire a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-MS), specifically an Autoflex Max TOF/TOF from Bruker.

The instrument will support a team of NIH-funded investigators conducting analysis across multiple research projects, including peptidome analysis in human serum and milk samples from breast cancer donors and matched controls; secretome analysis of MCF7 cells with altered jumping translocation protein expression; subcellular imaging development for organellar chloride using organelle chemotype fingerprinting; intestinal stem cell compartment characterization in zebrafish; neural precursor communication during Drosophila peripheral nervous system development; mouse tuberculosis modeling; ferritin iron core formation and intracellular fate studies; and environmental monitoring, food safety, high-throughput drug screening, and disease diagnostic methods. No MALDI-MS exists within a 100-mile radius of Clarkson's location, and the instrument will serve users across four departments: Biology; Chemistry & Biomolecular Science; Civil & Environmental Engineering; and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.

Performance occurs in Potsdam, New York from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027. This is a Project Grant, the assistance type that funds discrete research projects of defined scope.

Acquisition of a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometer - a team of NIH-funded investigators requests a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometer (maldi-MS), specifically an autoflex max TOF/TOF maldi-MS from bruker, a reliable instrument that fits the needs of most major and minor users. The instrument will be used to gain a deeper understanding of a broad range of molecules, including proteins, peptides, polymers, organic synthesis products, as well as sets of molecules such as proteomes and peptidomes from biological fluids. The maldi-MS will be used for funded projects on the analysis of peptidomes in human serum and milk samples from donors with breast cancer and matched controls; analysis of secretomes of MCF7 cells with overexpressed or downregulated jumping translocation protein, a cell cycle regulator and proto-oncogene; development of next-generation subcellular imaging reporters for organellar chloride using the "organelle chemotype fingerprinting" technique; determination of the role of a specific epithelial cell type residing in the developing intestinal stem cell compartment in zebrafish; elucidation of neural precursor communication during development of the drosophila peripheral nervous system; development of a mouse model of tuberculosis that generates human-like pathology; determination of the effect of ferritin subunit composition on iron core formation and the roles of PCBP1 and NCOA4 in the fate of intracellular ferritin; and development of rugged, easy-to-use methods for analyte detection essential for environmental monitoring, food safety, high-throughput screening (HTS) of drug candidates, and disease diagnosis. There is no maldi-MS within a 100-mile radius from clarkson university. The new maldi-MS will serve users from four clarkson departments (biology, chemistry & biomolecular science/chemistry & biochemistry, civil & environmental engineering, and chemical & biomolecular engineering) as well as from four institutions located in northern new york state: the state university of new york (suny) at potsdam, 2) suny at plattsburgh, 3) ST. Lawrence university in canton, and 4) the trudeau institute at saranac lake. The maldi-MS will be located in the science center and will become part of the department of chemistry & biomolecular science's (chemistry & biochemistry) shared instrument facility, where IT will be accessible to all clarkson researchers and faculty and researchers from surrounding universities and institutes within a 100-mile radius. One highly experienced associate professor and instrument manager with full salary support from CBS will be responsible for the daily operation, weekly maintenance, new user training, as well as scheduling and charging users for instrument usage. The instrument manager's managerial efforts will be complemented by the PI's extensive expertise using maldi-MS (beginning when he was a graduate student in germany in 2000). Beyond the project period, clarkson university will provide funds for maldi-MS's service contract, to ensure that the instrument is well maintained and to enable its use well beyond its standard lifetime.