New student for 2012

We start 2012 by welcoming a new student to the group. Jo Denbigh joins us to work on a collaborative project with Roy Goodacre, Lipidomic and metabolomic imaging of biological response mechanisms.

Project Aim

To establish, using biological tissue sections and model organisms, perturbations in lipid and metabolite distributions as a consequence of pathological status or abiotic stress.  This will provide new insight into important biochemical processes associated with disease progression and environmental pollution.

Project Outline

Many diseases and abiotic stress responses are linked with abnormal lipid metabolism.  The chemical fingerprinting of diseased and stressed biological systems through lipidomics and metabolomics is a powerful approach to understanding and ultimately controlling biological function.  For example, drug development requires information on the biological response to therapy and the distribution of drugs and metabolites inside cells or tissues. Understanding and controlling the effect of environmental pollutants on fresh-water organisms is essential in protecting the eco-system. This project will address these issues through the application and methodological development of two emerging bioanalytical technologies, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) [1] and Raman microspectroscopy [2].  The systems to be studied include various biological tissues (diseased and healthy) and a fresh-water, single-celled microalgae Micrasterias hardyi.

Lipid profile in Micrasterias hardyi using FT-IR microspectroscopy (3)

  1. A New Dynamic in Mass Spectral Imaging of Single Biological Cells
    John S. Fletcher, Sadia Rabbani, Alex Henderson, Paul Blenkinsopp, Steve P. Thompson, Nicholas P. Lockyer, and John C. Vickerman
    Analytical Chemistry 80 (2008) 9058-9064
  2. Raman chemical mapping reveals site of action of HIV protease inhibitors in HPV16 E6 expressing cervical carcinoma cells
    D.-H. Kim, R.M. Jarvis, J.W. Allwood, G. Batman, R.E. Moore, E. Marsden-Edwards, L. Hampson, I.N. Hampson, R. Goodacre.
    Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 398 (2010) 3051-3061
  3. Spatial metabolic fingerprinting using FT-IR spectroscopy: investigating abiotic stresses on Micrasterias hardyi
    S.A. Patel, F. Currie, N. Thakker and R. Goodacre
    Analyst 133 (2008) 1707-1713