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March/April 2008 GW Researchers Unveil Mass Spectrometry Discovery
A new discovery by GW researchers has the potential to advance AIDS, cancer, and autism research by permitting the rapid analysis of living cells. In February, Akos Vertes, GW professor of chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology, and GW graduate student Peter Nemes discussed and demonstrated their innovative laser ablation electrospray ionization (LAESI) technology at a media breakfast held in Samson Hall. The LAESI technology—part of the rapidly growing field of mass spectrometry—uses a combination of an infrared laser and electrospray to produce ions from solid or liquid surfaces. The ions then can be analyzed in a matter of seconds using a mass spectrometer, which determines the mass of a molecule by measuring the mass-to-charge ratio of the corresponding ion. The technique can be applied to human, animal, and plant cells, and can be used immediately in the fields of medical technology, food and drug safety, pharmacology, drug development, clinical testing, and ecology, among others. Various components of the work were supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the W.M. Keck Foundation. “Mass spectrometry is tremendously important because it has been the driving force behind the rise of a number of industries, such as the pharmaceutical and, more recently, biotechnology,” says Vertes, who is also the founder and co-director of the W.M. Keck Institute for Proteomics Technology and Applications. “We are facing a new challenge and new opportunity with the application of mass spectrometry in the medical field.” In their laboratory, Vertes and Nemes use plant leaves to test LAESI imaging and profiling. The chemical make-up of samples can be revealed within seconds, while laser imaging can be achieved within minutes, and Vertes says their goal is to use LAESI on live organisms, which would be essential in advancing medical research. The efforts of Vertes and his colleagues have led to innovative instrument design for the analysis of proteins, as well as better understanding of the fundamental processes involved in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization and electrospray ionization—two essential techniques in mass spectrometry. Vertes’ research has been presented in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, two books, and numerous conference presentations. He is an internationally recognized expert in bioanalytical methods with honors and awards including the Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship, Fellow of the Royal Flemish Academy for Science and the Arts, and the Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Nemes previously held research positions at the Water Resources Research Centre in Budapest, Chemical Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the EGIS Pharmaceutical Company, also in Budapest. His research is presented in eight papers and more than 10 conference contributions.
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