Orbitrap Eclipse
Unique Tribrid architecture of the Thermo Orbitrap Eclipse mass spectrometer includes a quadrupole mass filter as well as a dual-pressure linear ion trap and an Orbitrap mass analyzers. This configuration affords high acquisition rates to provide maximum experimental flexibility for selection, dissociation, and detection of fragment ions. The instrument is capable of several fragmentation techniques: collision-induced dissociation (CID); higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD); ETD, including electron-transfer higher-energy collision dissociation (EThcD), and electron-transfer collision-induced dissociation (ETciD); and ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD). These fragmentation techniques are available at any stage of MSn with detection in the Orbitrap mass analyzer or in the linear ion trap analyzer. The Orbitrap Eclipse platform includes Advanced Ion Management Technology (AIM+) with the new QR5 segmented quadrupole mass filter, Real-Time Search, Enhanced Vacuum Technology, and Proton Transfer Charge Reduction (PTCR). This instrument is uniquely suited for accurate and high-throughput full-proteome quantitation and characterization. The instrument is interfaced with a Thermo Easy nLC 1200 liquid chromatography system.
QExactive
Q Exactive™ Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer is a bench-top ESI LC-MS/MS system that combines quadrupole precursor ion selection with high-resolution, accurate-mass (HRAM) Orbitrap detection. The mass spectrometer can be interfaced with a Vanquish Flex UHPLC system for LC-MS and LC-MS/MS analyses.
Ultraflextreme MALDI-TOF-TOF
Ultraflextreme is a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer equipped with a 1 kHz smartbeam-II laser (solid state, frequency-quadrupled Nd:YAG) which can be focused down to 10 micron for high spatial resolution. The Facility provides software support for the MALDI-TOF (or TOF-TOF) analysis of polymers (PolyTools), protein top-down sequencing and peptide de-novo sequencing (BioTools), glycan analysis (part of ProteinScape), and microorganism identification (Biotyper, by agreement with Animal Diagnostics Laboratory).
SpectraMax M5 (currently down, awaiting repairs)
The SpectraMax M5 Microplate Reader is a dual-monochromator, multi-detection, multi-mode instrument with a triple-mode cuvette port and 6-well to 384-well microplate reading
capability. Detection modalities are absorbance, fluorescence intensity, fluorescence polarization, time-resolved fluorescence, and luminescence.
Free for internal users. Contact Tatiana to be included in the trained users list and be able to reserve the instrument time in iLab.
MALDI Biotyper
The MALDI Biotyper identifies microorganisms by analyzing their intrinsic proteins using mass spectrometry. An individual colony from an overnight culture grown on an agar plate is picked using a wooden toothpick and transferred to a MALDI target. This sample is allowed to dry, and a microliter of a matrix solution is added to the sample. The organic solvent in the matrix solution extracts proteins from the microorganisms. The extracted proteins are mainly ribosomal proteins, present in high concentrations. Once the matrix has crystallized (10-15 min), sample preparation is complete and the samples are ready for analysis.
For more information and for sample submission guidelines, follow this link.
Internal use rate is $54 for a 96-well target plate regardless of the number of samples. External researchers should open and fund an iLab account with Penn State before sending the samples.
The Huck Institutes Core Facilities
The Huck Institutes manages 10 shared instrumentation cores, including two mass spectrometry core facilities: the Metabolomics Core Facility and the Proteomics Core Facility.
The Biomarker Core Laboratory
The Biomarker Core Laboratory is specially designed for ELISA, Multiplex assays, and telomere length analysis. This shared-use facility is set up for sample analysis, organization, aliquoting, long-term storage, and independent use of lab equipment by Penn State researchers. The Biomarker Core Laboratory offers qualitative, quantitative, and semi-quantitative analyses of hormones, cytokines, drugs, electrolytes and vitamins, protein biomarkers, bone markers, and many more other analytes from biological fluids, hair, and tissue.
Laboratory for Isotopes and Metals in the Environment (LIME)
The Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility does not perform elemental analysis or stable isotope analysis. For these analyses, please contact LIME.
Materials Characterization Laboratory (MCL)
If your samples are not amenable to ESI or MALDI, you may want to explore the MCL instrumentation.
LTQ Orbitrap Velos ETD with Dionex Ultimate 3000 nano-LC (Retired in 2020)
LTQ Orbitrap is a hybrid mass spectrometer which incorporates a linear ion trap and a high-resolution Orbitrap mass analyzers. LTQ Orbitrap usually operates in data-dependent mode, i.e. a specified number of peptide precursor ions are selected for MS/MS based on their defined properties which are determined on the fly. These properties include precursor ion charge, mass, m/z, or a known modification. In a routine proteomics experiment, ten most abundant ions are selected for MS/MS every second and then excluded from selection for a specified time: 15-60 s depending on a chromatographic peak width. The instrument is equipped with HCD cell for performing iTRAQ-based or TMT-based relative quantification and ETD ion activation for analysis of labile modifications.
Dionex Ultimate 3000 nano-LC system separates peptides prior to the MS analysis using two reverse-phase columns: a shorter desalting (or trapping) column and a longer analytical column. The system is capable of 2D LC in which peptides could be separated based on their charge (or some other property) in first dimension and based on hydropathicity in second dimension.