Mass spectrometry, structures of (isolated) biomolecules

Research in our group focuses on increasing the structural information from mass spectrometry measurements for bioanalytical applications. We make use of physical chemistry tools, such as lasers, and develop methods and instrumentation that allow other physical parameters of the ions to be characterized (e.g. infrared absorption, collision-cross-section), so that “more than the mass” of the ions can be determined. Topical projects include 1) amyloid aggregation, as the misfolding of these proteins is responsible for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease: our studies are aimed to shed light on the dynamics of beta-sheet formation of the smaller aggregates; 2) the differentiation of carbohydrates, as these are among the most complex classes of (bio)molecules, thus remaining a challenging problem in mass spectrometry: we employ a multi-dimensional approach, where the structure of the sugars can be mapped based on the complementary structural information from multiple techniques.