The triple quadrupole: Innovation, serendipity and persistence

The FDA released a proposed LDT rule and stated it will “end its enforcement discretion” of LDTs. Previously, the FDA explored other avenues for regulating LDTs. We will discuss questions relevant to the draft rule and implications to laboratory medicine, including, but not limited to: - What are possible implications of FDA regulation of LDTs? - Is the FDA the appropriate mechanism for this LDT oversight? - What about modernization of CLIA? - What would be the financial cost? - What would be the diagnostic cost?

Dustin Bunch chats with Jennifer Van Eyk on the fine points of her Distinguished Contribution Award lecture from the previous evening. Recorded onsite at MSACL 2023 Monterey in the Exhibit Hall.

Dustin Bunch chats with Tim Collier on some of the nuances of his Michael S Bereman Award for Innovative Clinical Proteomics lecture from the previous afternoon. Recorded onsite at MSACL 2023 Monterey in the Exhibit Hall.

Through connecting genomic and metabolic information, metaproteomics is an essential approach for understanding how microbiomes function in space and time. The international metaproteomics community is delighted to announce the launch of the Metaproteomics Initiative (www.metaproteomics.org), the goal of which is to promote dissemination of metaproteomics fundamentals, advancements, and applications through collaborative networking in microbiome research.

An interview with Lindsey Kirkpatrick, DO, PhD and Nicholas Manicke, PhD discussing the technology behind, and development of, Paper Spray technology, as well as its place in the clinical lab. Read the companion article in JMSACL, Development and validation of a paper spray mass spectrometry method for the rapid quantitation of remdesivir and its active metabolite, GS-441524, in human plasma (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsacl.2022.06.001).

An interview with Richard Yost, co-developer of the Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer. How it was developed and why. Read the companion article in JMSACL at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667145X22000141

We will be talking with Thomas Durant and Edward Lee about recent advances in machine learning (ML) for mass spectrometry (MS) data analysis. The primary focus will be the alignment of these two fields (ML and MS) and how this offers a promising synergy that can be used to optimize workflows, improve result quality, and enhance our understanding of high-dimensional datasets, as well as their inherent relationship with disease biology. We will also dig deeper to understand a basic overview of ML and an ML-based experiment. Overall, we will have a opportunity go through the fundamental principles of supervised ML, outline the steps that are classically involved in an ML-based experiment, and discuss the purpose of good ML practice in the context of a binary MS classification problem.

Christopher Rose shares his thoughts on single cell proteomics.

X linked disorders are considerably rare and research analysing human samples is under-represented. Research undertaken in this study used neural progenitor cells from an afflicted patient to begin exploring this rare disorder. While most experimental work focuses on the neurodevelopmental impacts of X-chromosome associated diseases, this work demonstrates that they should also be considered metabolic disorders owing to their perturbations on metabolite and lipid biochemistry. This work aims to use mass spectrometry to improve our understanding of these conditions and guide novel interventions by characterizing disease associated metabolic alterations.

Untargeted small molecule machine learning for MSICameron Shedlock (until 14:00)Mass spectrometry imaging returns large dimensionally complex datasets. Traditional analysis in imaging utilizes a mindset focused on target molecule identification that parses data with a narrow view of molecular exploration. These data analysis methods are specifically focused on exploring differences between a traditional organic acid matrix when compared to using nanoparticles for MSI, which results in very different ionization of small molecules. Analysis methods have taken a shotgun approach using both supervised and unsupervised machine learning to reveal critical trends in MSI datasets. A workflow is being prepared which enables select regions of interest to be compared using powerful machine learning algorithms to offer a holistic approach to data analysis and class comparison.Mass spectrometry imaging using gold nanoparticlesKate Stumpo, PhDMass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful analytical method for the simultaneous analysis of hundreds of compounds within a biological sample. Despite the broad applicability of this technique, there is a critical need for advancements in methods for small molecule detection. Some molecular classes of small molecules are more difficult than others to ionize, e.g., neurotransmitters (NTs). The chemical structure of NTs (i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary amines) affects ionization and has been a noted difficulty in the literature. In order to achieve detection of NTs using MSI, strategies must focus on either changing the chemistry of target molecules to aid in detection or focus on new methods of ionization. This presentation will introduce a new method of ionization, using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and the bigger picture of NPs for MSI.