COMPUTIS - Molecular Imaging in Tissue and Cells by Computer-assisted Innovative Multimode Mass Spectrometry (Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health) (2006-01-01 - 2009-06-30) (»add to infobox)

This proposal aims to develop new and improved techniques for Molecular Imaging Spectrometry (MIMS), enabling innovative appraoaches in fuctional genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, as well as for investigation of cells and tissues. Three objectives are considered as part of this proposal: - Innovative MS imaging instrumentation through the application of novel desorption, ionisation and detection techniques, - Advanced diagnostic methods for identifying diseases by study of molecular images, - Monitoring of therapeutics effects on expression patterns of damaged and abnormal cells and tissues. The proposed project is based on recent significant improvements in desorption and iosisation techniques such as SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) and MALDI (Matix Laser Desorption Ionisation) associated with various mass analysers which offer an outstanding ability to analyze organic molecules as large as peptides or proteins at femtomole sample amounts. These techniques are extrapolated to produce actual molecular images of flat specimen by mass spectrometry with a micrometric lateral resolution. This project will provide innovative analytical capabilities for mapping a variety of biological compounds directly at the tissue or cell level by superpositioning information from different sources in the same image. Thus MIMS is an extraordinary new tool which could lead to completly new analysis concepts. In order to make it routinely accessible to users, it requires appropriate instrumentation, sample preparation methodology and computerization with high performance massive data acquisition and processing. Application-driven developments of MIMS will be validated as part of this project by close collaboration of pathologists, biologists, analytical chemists and informaticians, to achieve the project objectives and lead to rapid industrial and clinical exploitation owning to the active contribution of the SME and industrial partners of the consortium.

COORDINATOR (1/1)

PARTICIPANTS (6/6)

RELATED THEMATIC AREAS (1/1)