Low molecular weight biological molecules or so called ‘metabolites’ are vital for viability and fitness of all living creatures. Detection, identification and quantification of hundreds of thousands of metabolites possessing endless structures is a great challenge, requiring ample expertise in analytical chemistry. Yet, proficiency in such methodologies is critically needed in many labs, both biology and chemistry oriented ones. This course will offer a unique opportunity to gain fundamental knowledge in using analytical chemistry for the interrogation of metabolites in any given organism.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is a core technology providing the capacity to detect, quantify and identify metabolites. The course will provide both theoretical background as well as practical hands-on experience with respect to analyzing small molecules in complex extracts. Course attendees will get acquainted with chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry technologies, with main focus on using Liquid Chromatography –MS (LC-MS) for targeted and non-targeted (i.e. un-biased) analytical approaches. The practical part will be carried out in small groups and include hands-on activity covering sample preparation, analytical runs on LC-MS instruments as well as raw data analysis and downstream data processing. A complementary course entitled ‘Analysis of Small molecules: Metabolic Profiling and Mass Spectrometry Imaging’ will be given in the following semester
Theoretical part
15th of January:
Introduction to the course – 1 h – Asaph Aharoni
Introduction to metabolite separation methods (1st part) – 1 h – Sergey Malitsky
16th of January:
Introduction to metabolite separation methods (2nd part) – 2 h – Sergey Malitsky
17th of January:
Introduction to mass spectrometry (1st part) – 2 h – Ilana Rogachev
18th of January:
Introduction to mass spectrometry (2nd part) – 2 h – Ilana Rogachev
19th of January:
Non-targeted LC-MS analysis – 2 h – Ilana Rogachev
22nd of January:
Targeted LC-MS analysis – 2 h – Alexander Brandis
Practical (hands-on) part
22 – 25 of January (4 days), 5 hours each day (Ilana Rogachev and Alex Brandis)
Location of practical part will be announced later by FGS