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Real Time Mass Spectrometry

Real Time Mass Spectrometry (RTMS) simultaneously measures production and consumption of multiple gasses and isotopic variants in seconds. This method is amenable to a wide variety of biological systems ranging from cell culture to plant and soil systems. It provides researchers with high temporal resolution data for multiple gasses in real time, while also enabling a deeper understanding of gas exchanges in diverse biological and environmental systems. Since respiration is one physiological state that is indicative of the metabolism of a biological system, being able to measure biological respiration in real time, under controlled laboratory conditions, allows for better understanding of cellular physiology.

Research application

  • By allowing real-time respiration measurements from a variety of systems, including soils, cell cultures, and plants, the RTMS technology supports the Biomolecular Pathways Integrated Research Platform by helping to quantify the cellular metabolism in real time and by providing information on active metabolic pathways in these systems.
  • The RTMS technology can also be extended to the direct measurement of volatile compounds and the isotopically labeled isomers of gases and compounds. It supports both the Terrestrial-Atmospheric Processes and the Rhizosphere Function Integrated Research Platforms by defining the molecular interactions of different species and the fate and transport of substrates in an ecosystem.

Available Instruments

  • Shimatzu GC-MS instrument outfitted with an RTMS manifold

Tips for success

  • Experimentation must be done on site, at EMSL, as the real-time nature of the experimental design requires sample placement in a reaction chamber connected directly to the instrument.

Contacts