• Laser technology - 355 nm frequency tripled Nd:YAG SmartBeam laser
• Laser focus diameter - 10 µm - enables high spatial resolution imaging without pixel overlap.
• Resolving power - Wide mass range resolving power up to 26,000.
• Two Modes of operation - Linear mode for labile molecules or anything bigger than 5kDa. & Reflectron mode for small molecules and peptides.
• Ion source cleaning - Laser based self-cleaning.
• Target plate - 384 position target plate (~1 µL spot size).
• Specificity of Ionisation - Can analyse both positive & negative ions in the same spot.
• Compass software suite - Flex Control for quick and easy data acquisition & Flex Analysis for automatic and interactive data analysis.

Tools for various applications : 

• ProteinScape for handling of proteomics projects.
• GlycoQuest for automated detection, localization and identification of glycan isoforms.
• BioTools software for protein analysis and Top-Down sequencing..
• FlexImaging for MALDI Imaging.
• ClinProTools statistical software which turns images into interpreted data.

Additional supported software tools :

• Polymerix (Sierra Analytics, Modesto, CA, USA)
• SimGlycan (PREMIER Biosoft International, Palo Alto, CA, USA)

Support features :

• Extended self diagnostics.
• Remote on-line service and support capability.

Flex control- Data acquisition

Flex analysis- Data analysis

BioTools- Interface for protein identification

Clinprotools- Biomarker detection

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is an innovative technology designed and optimized to be easy-to-use for reliable and detailed protein/peptide characterization, polymer analysis, Glycan analysis, nucleic acids & small molecule analysis.

Role of the matrix :

The matrix plays an important role as it transfers the energy needed for ionisation from the laser light to the sample molecules.

 

The ionization of the molecules with laser bombardment leads to movement of the ions in vacuum and detected by the detector. Based on the detection of the ionised samples by the detector data acquisition is performed which thereby generates the mass spectra with the help of Auto control & Auto flex softwares.

Diagrammatic representation of MALDI principle :

• Joshi S, Khatri L K, Kumar A*, Rathore S A. Monitoring size and oligomeric-state distribution of therapeutic mAbs by NMR and DLS: Trastuzumab as a case study. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2021. 195, 113841. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2020.113841
• Pravin N, Kumar R, Tripathi S, Kumar P, Mohite GM, Navalkar A, Panigrahi R, Singh N, Gadhe LG, Manchanda S, Shimozawa M, Nilsson P, Johansson J, Kumar A, Maji SK, Shanmugam M. Benzimidazole‐based Fluorophores for the Detection of Amyloid Fibrils with Higher Sensitivity than Thioflavin‐T. J. Neurochem. 2021. 156(6), 1003-1019. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15138
• Marathe S, Dhamija B, Kumar S, Jain N, Ghosh S, Dharikar JP, Srinivasan S, Das S, Sawant A, Desai S, Khan F, Syiemlieh A, Munde M, Nayak C, Gandhi M, Kumar A, Srivastava S, Venkatesh KV, Barthel SR, Purwar R. Multiomics Analysis and Systems Biology Integration Identifies the Roles of IL-9 in Keratinocyte Metabolic Reprogramming. J Invest Dermatol. 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2021.02.013.
• Debdeep Chatterjee, Reeba S Jacob, Soumik Ray, Ambuja Navalkar, Namrata Singh, Shinjinee Sengupta, Laxmikant Gadhe, Pradeep Kadu, Debalina Datta, Ajoy Paul, Sakunthala Arunima, Surabhi Mehra, Chinmai Pindi, Santosh Kumar, Praful Singru, Sanjib Senapati, Samir K Maji. Co-aggregation and secondary nucleation in the life cycle of human prolactin/galanin functional amyloids. eLife. 2022. 11: e73835
• Laxmikant Gadhe, Arunima Sakunthala, Semanti Mukherjee, Nitisha Gahlot, Riya Bera, Ajay Singh Sawner, Pradeep Kadu, Samir K. Maji. Intermediates of α-synuclein aggregation: Implications in Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis. Biophysical Chemistry. 2021. 281: 106736
• Soumik Ray, Nitu Singh, Komal Patel, G. Krishnamoorthy and Samir K. Maji. FRAP & FRET investigation of α-synuclein fibrillization via liquid-liquid phase separation in vitro and in HeLa cells. Methods in Mol Biol. 2021.
• Surabhi Mehra , Laxmikant Gadhe, Riya Bera, Ajay Singh Sawner, Samir K Maji. Structural and functional insights into α-synuclein fibril polymorphism. Biomolecules. 2021. 11(10):1419
• AS Sawner, S Ray, P Yadav, S Mukherjee, R Panigrahi, M Poudyal, K Patel, D Ghosh, E Kummerant, A Kumar, R Riek and SK Maji. Modulating α-Synuclein Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation. Biochemistry. 2021. 60(48): 3676-3696

For Internal Users (IIT Bombay)

• Only online sample registration through the IRCC webpage will be accepted.
• The users will be informed about their date and time of the slot by email.
• If the user cannot come even after accepting the date & time of the slot, a mail should be immediately sent to maldi.bios@iitb.ac.in to cancel the slot.
• For re-allocating the slot after cancellation, fresh online registration to be done.
• Kindly refer the sample preparation instructions and do's & don'ts prior to filling up the online sample request form.
• Please come prepared with some literature reference papers for the sample to be analysed by MALDI TOF/TOF.
• After sample submission, the user need not stay back in the MALDI facility and the results will be sent through email.
• For samples other than Proteins, Peptides, Glycans, Nucleic acids & Polymers, kindly discuss with the concerned person at MALDI facility at 022 25764757, prior to online registration.