Mobilising IMS for biomedical research

A new national initiative in ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) which aims to explore the use of IMS measurement within the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields has been launched in the UK. Professor Colin Creaser from Nottingham Trent University and Dr Paul Thomas from the University of Manchester are leading a consortium of experts and industrial partners, who will evaluate the potential of IMS in areas such as high-speed separations of complex mixtures and structural characterisation of pharmaceuticals and biomolecules.

This initiative will create a platform for a programme of internationally competitive research. As well as the two lead universities, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Waters have pledged their support. So far £530,000 has been committed to the initiative.

Colin Creaser commented that “We are at an important crossroad in the development of IMS from applications principally in the security field to a technique used widely in pharmaceutical discovery and biomedical diagnostics”.

Online symposium on MALDI fundamentals

The European Journal of Mass Spectrometry is organising a “Symposium in Print” (SiP) on MALDI Fundamentals and Related Phenomena, which is being edited by Richard Knochenmuss of Novartis. Papers submitted to this special issue of the journal will be made available to all those who register for the SiP; registration is free. Discussion of the papers will take place online and the edited discussion along with the papers will be published in print and online.

All those with an interest in this area are invited to register for the Symposium in Print at www.impub.co.uk/sip/ and participate in the discussion.

Stray light correction

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a new, simple method to correct errors arising from the presence of stray light. The new NIST method can nearly eliminate stray light errors, to less than 0.001% of the total signal. The method was implemented and validated using a commercial CCD-array spectrograph. They characterised the response to monochromatic emissions from tunable lasers that covered the instrument’s full spectral range. Calculations were made using the measured data to produce a matrix that quantified the magnitude of the stray-light signal for every element of the detector array for every wavelength. The matrix was then used to correct the instrument’s output signals for stray light. The method is simple and fast enough to be incorporated into an instrument’s software to perform real-time stray-light corrections without much reduction in the instrument’s speed. Contact Yuqin Zong (yzong@nist.gov) for more information.

Underwater MS

Scientists and engineers at the University of South Florida’s Center for Ocean Technology are developing equipment to allow mass spectrometers to be used under the ocean to analyse dissolved gases and volatile organic compounds in the deep marine environment. They have already developed protective housings that allow the mass spectrometer to be deployed at more than 1100ft and are now working on going to depths of up to three miles.

Underwater MS provides valuable information on significant gases such as methane, oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as harmful compounds such as benzene, chloroform and toluene.

X-ray spectrometer detects calcium on the Moon

The D-CIXS X-ray spectrometer on board the European Space Agency’s (ESA) SMART-1 spacecraft has made the first unambiguous remote-sensing detection of calcium on the Moon. SMART-1 is currently performing the verification and calibration of its instruments, while flying in orbit 450km above the Moon at its closest distance.

Although it is still preparing for full lunar operations, D-CIXS has already started sending back high-quality data. D-CIXS is designed to measure the global composition of the Moon by measuring its X-ray fluorescence. Under normal solar illumination, it can detect elemental Mg, Al and Si and several other elements during solar flares.

On 15 January 2005, between 07:00 and about 09:00 Central European Time, a solar flare occurred. “The Sun was kind to us”, said Professor Manuel Grande of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, leader of the D-CIXS instrument team. “It set off a large X-ray flare just as we took our first look downwards at the lunar surface.”

At the time of the solar flare, D-CIXS was observing Mare Crisium, and detected the presence of calcium there in other neighbouring areas (see Figure).

D-CIXS is an ultra-compact X-ray camera and forms one of the most innovative elements of the SMART-1 scientific instrumentation. It is a cube just 15cm wide, weighing less than 5kg. D-CIXS is the first instrument of its kind to be tested in space. It is also the first X-ray spectrometer ever flown around the moon with sufficient spectral resolution to separate signals coming from different chemical elements. www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/

Biotech exhibition

IBLA (International Biotech and Lab Automation Europe), which will be held from 15 to 16 November in London, UK, will arrange for free coach transport for invited visitors, sponsored by major exhibitors, from selected science hubs, initially throughout the south of the UK. The exhibition and conference is in its fourth year. www.internationalbiotech.com, www.labautomationeurope.com