Bioanalytics

The core mission of the Bioanalytics Core is to provide investigators with technical expertise, education and mass-spectrometry based analytical services, and to develop new analytical approaches.

Aims of the Core

1. Support current COBRE and Center projects. The Bioanalytics Core provides intellectual input, technical expertise and mass-spectrometry based analytical services, to address the needs of investigators.
2. Educate and train investigators. The Core educates investigators about the principles of mass spectrometry, separations and other bioanalytical technologies. We work together to develop conceptual frameworks and execute well designed experiments.
3. Develop new protocols and techniques. The Core utilizes mass spectrometry to design high sample and information throughput methods to accommodate the growing needs of researchers. Core personnel attend conferences and workshops to educate themselves about advancements in the field. The Core continues to expand its knowledge-base and technical expertise to satisfy the future needs of the Center.

Facilities & Instrumentation

The Bioanalytics laboratory is in the Delia Baxter II Biomedical Research Building (580 South Preston Street) on the University of Louisville Health Science Campus. It occupies over 2000 sq. ft of laboratory space and provides rich and diverse resources from which the investigators interface to develop their own independent research programs.

Instruments

Waters Synapt XS HRMS with
ACQUITY UPLC I-Class System
(obtained through the NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant Mechanism - S10 OD026840)

Sciex5500 QTRAP MS with
Shimadzu Nexera LC system

The following instruments have been decommissioned and are no longer available

Agilent 6890N GC-MS with CTC PAL3 autosampler

Waters Quattro Premier XE triple quadrupole MS
with an Acquity Classic UPLC system

Core Services

Currently, our Core has excellent targeted analytical workflows based on the state-of-the art UPLC/UHLPC-MS/MS systems with triple-quadrupole analyzers. In August 2020 the Core added a high resolution, state-of-the art Waters Synapt XS LC-MS system (obtained through the NIH shared instrumentation grant mechanism – S10 OD026840).

The Bioanalytics Core facilitates characterization and quantitation of small molecular weight analytes in biofluids, tissues and cells.

Services available:

• UPLC-MS/MS measurements
  • 28 VOC metabolites and 5 tobacco alkaloids in urine
  • Low abundance VOC metabolites in urine
  • Biogenic monoamines and their metabolites in urine
  • Histidine/histidine dipeptides in tissues/urine
  • Measurement of cortisol/cortisone in urine
  • Muconic acid in urine
  • LC-MS/MS analyses of 41 lipid mediators
• Stable isotope resolved metabolomics analysis - data acquisition (Synapt XS) and analysis
  (The Core can analyze stable isotope labeled data from Waters and Thermo HRMS systems)
• Discovery and identification LC-MS
  
  • Untargeted and semi-targeted metabolomics analyses
  • Screening and identification of xenobiotic metabolites (mercapturates, GSH-conjugates, 1^st and 2^nd phase metabolites)
  • Analyte confirmation (accurate mass, fragmentation)
• Method development
  • Synapt XS untargeted and targeted method development
  • LC-MS/MS quantitative method development
  • GC-MS method development (instrument currently unavailable)
• Training

* - minimum of 10 samples. Less samples will be charged minimum. For pricing inquiries and questions related to services offered, please contact Director, Dr. Pawel Lorkiewicz.

Sample submission forms

• Service Request (.pdf)
• Sample submission guidelines (.pdf)
• Sample list template

Additional Areas of Expertise

• Pawel Lorkiewicz, Ph.D. - LC-MS, GC-MS, FT-MS, HRAM, MALDI, GCxGC, SIRM, metabolomics, lipidomics, biomarker discovery, targeted analysis, tobacco products
• Jason Hellman, Ph.D. - Lipid mediator quantification, mass spectrometry, LC-MS, lipidomics
• Shahid Baba, Ph.D. - Histidyl dipeptide metabolism, LC-MS, targeted analysis, structural elucidation