The £1.5m mass spectrometer will enable the study of proteins, lipids and metabolites in cell membranes in exceptional detail.
Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME) and Aston University College of Health and Life Sciences received a grant of £1.5m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for its installation.
The research team is led by Dr Ivana Milic, a lecturer in Aston University School of Biosciences and part of the multidisciplinary AIME.
The Orbitrap Ascend Tribrid mass spectrometer from Thermo Fisher Scientific is configured for the study of biological membranes in detail, enabling researchers to analyse proteins and lipids, and their chemical modifications and metabolites with unmatched sensitivity, precision and speed.
How lipids and proteins within cell membranes work together to ensure cells can communicate, interact and carry out essential functions is still not well understood. Cell membranes undergo tiny but significant chemical changes in response to factors such as stress, ageing and disease. These changes can have a big impact on how cells function but are poorly understood. Defining these changes is key to understanding both health and disease processes.
The AIME team’s research is focused on four objectives, one of which is to explore how proteins and lipids interact within membranes to regulate protein function in health and disease. The team will study membrane proteins such as aquaporins, which transport water in and out of cells, and influence conditions like inflammation, cancer and brain injury. This knowledge could lead to the development of more effective drugs and therapies.
The researchers will also study protein changes caused by stress and ageing to identify the signalling processes which go wrong and lead to age-associated disease.
Membranes also form small capsules known as vesicles which carry cargo important in the control of inflammation and healing. The AIME team will identify important molecules carried by vesicles during inflammation and healing, such as rare enzymes, paving the way for new treatments for non-healing wounds and chronic inflammatory conditions.
The researchers also aim to create engineered membranes that produce active proteins, make industrial microbes more stress-resistant and develop precision drug delivery systems for cancer treatments.
The Ascend mass spectrometer is the first such instrument outside the ‘Golden Triangle’ of London, Cambridge and Oxford. It is available for use to more than 20 membrane and biosciences research groups across the Midlands and other regions without access to such a device.
