New mass spectrometry technique holds the potential for exploring nature's unknown chemical universe. The universe is awash in billions of possible chemicals. Despite the arsenal of advanced technology at their disposal, researchers have only identified the molecular makeup of a minuscule portion,
—shorthand for mass divided by charge, which signifies one of the ways that scientists measure chemical properties in the world of mass spectrometry.
Adam Hollerbach with a SLIM device created at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Credit: Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryIn the latest development, a team led by scientist Adam Hollerbach has combined two high-resolution instruments into one system to size up molecules in unprecedented detail.
“There may be millions of microbes in just a gram of soil, and we don’t know who most of them are or what they do. There’s a lot of discovery still to happen,” said Metz. “From the viewpoint of challenging science, it’s either a worst-case scenario or one of our greatest opportunities, depending on how you look at it.”scientists are seizing the opportunity.
SLIM, which is about the size of a laptop and stands at just one-quarter of an inch thick, is a hothouse of molecular activity. Dozens of long, winding paths transform the small device into a 42-foot-long molecular racetrack, with ions that are controlled tightly by electric fields racing round and round an oval obstacle course.
“Two different molecules can have the same number of atoms, and the same mass and charge, but they could have very different structures and activity. That’s where SLIM comes in to tell the difference,” said Hollerbach. “Just one small change can mean the difference between a molecule that is indicative of a disease and one that’s not.”
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