Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Waters Collaborate on Tissue Imaging Research using SYNAPT HDMS

Waters Corporation and Vanderbilt University Medical Center jointly announce collaborative research efforts using Waters^® MALDI SYNAPT™ High Definition MS™ (HDMS™) System for enhanced tissue imaging capabilities for oncology research within the University’s Mass Spectrometry Research Center.

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center are focused on novel mass spectrometry (MS) approaches to identify and visualize protein expression changes in cells as they transition from a healthy state through various stages of cancer.

“The goal of tissue imaging is to provide a window into the changes in the cellular proteome in disease,” said Professor Richard Caprioli, Director of Mass Spectrometry Research Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We look forward to evaluating the use of ion mobility for enhanced MALDI imaging combined with high resolution, high sensitivity, orthogonal time-of-flight (Tof) mass spectrometry. Ultimately, we hope that enhanced tissue imaging techniques will provide data sets to be mined for diagnostic and prognostic information related to the various stages of cancer.”

The SYNAPT HDMS system is the only commercial instrument to incorporate high efficiency ion mobility separation in a dual ionization mass spectrometer giving scientists maximum analytical power for discovery research challenges.

“This Vanderbilt University collaboration is the latest example of how Waters works with leading researchers to push the limits of science,” said Brian Smith, Vice President, Mass Spectrometry Operations for Waters Division. “By working with the preeminent research group in the field, we expect to derive significant insight into the power of MALDI tissue imaging for biological applications and its potential for diagnostic purposes; not to mention the potential positive impact from better understanding the cellular proteome of one of world’s most devastating diseases.”

Waters introduced the SYNAPT HDMS System at the American Society of Mass Spectrometry annual meeting in Seattle in June of 2006. It is the first commercially-available mass spectrometer with the ability to analyze ions by their size, shape and charge in addition to mass. Waters added MALDI-capability to the SYNAPT HDMS System in 2007 and at PITTCON^® 2007, the Waters SYNAPT High Definition MS System received the PITTCON Editor’s Gold Award as Best New Product as well as Instrument Business Outlook newsletter’s top prize for best new product. For more information on Waters SYNAPT High Definition MS System, visit the Article Webpage.