FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry
Media Contact Information: Secondary Contact Information:
Name: Laura Browne/Charlotte Culley Stephanie Kubina
Phone: +44 1477 539539 +1 (408) 965-6022
Email: thermo@scottpr.com stephanie.kubina@thermofisher.com
Website: www.scottpr.com
Thermo
Scientific LTQ Orbitrap™ Mass Spectrometer Selected for
Ground-Breaking Research in Disease Treatment and Prevention
SAN JOSE, Calif., (February 13, 2008) – Thermo
Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science,
today announced that the company’s award-winning LTQ Orbitrap™
linear ion trap mass spectrometer was chosen by the Institut
de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal
(IRCM) for use in a new proteomics research approach that could
profoundly impact the current understanding of the human
proteome. The Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap will play a major
role in IRCM’s systematic analysis of human protein interaction
networks, which has significant implications in the prevention
and treatment of disease.
IRCM, founded in 1967, is a non-profit organization devoted
to studying the causes of disease, developing new diagnostic
procedures and discovering preventive and therapeutic approaches
that help to enhance quality of life. A significant part of the
organization’s research focuses on proteomics – or the study of
the structure and function of proteins, which are responsible
for the physiology of living cells. The proteome of an organism
is the set of proteins encoded by its genome. Since most of the
proteins found in the human body are still uncharacterized,
their function remains unknown and there is a need for a protein
“road map.”
Defining the maps of protein interactions that regulate cell
growth, differentiation and disease progression is the overall
goal of the Human Proteotheque Initiative (HuPI), a project
conducted by Dr. Benoit Coulombe, his
research team at IRCM and his collaborators in various
universities and research centers. These “HuPI-Maps” will
be made publicly available as an atlas describing some
fundamental human molecular networks. This atlas should become a
valuable resource for scientists interested in basic biological
and biomedical research because enzymes and other proteins carry
most of the biological functions required for cell growth and
differentiation. Central to the HuPI project is its experimental
platform, including the Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap mass
spectrometer, which ultimately generates maps of protein
interaction networks.
This information potentially can lead to future
ground-breaking discoveries of new molecular tools for the
prevention and treatment of disease. By characterizing protein
networks associated with a particular disease, scientists
believe they can produce multi-parameter descriptions needed to
more realistically and reliably address issues such as the
cause, the diagnose and, eventually, the cure of this disease.
Critical to this procedure is definitive protein
characterization, which is only possible with the
high-resolution, high-mass accuracy MS/MS performance offered by
the Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap hybrid system.
“What is most important is to develop a highly reliable and
efficient discovery pipeline that generates interaction maps
that are both as complete and as accurate as possible,” Dr.
Coulombe said. “The specificity of our procedure to identify
functionally relevant interaction partners is spectacular. The
LTQ Orbitrap has definitely enabled us to make discoveries that
have previously been impossible.”
“This is a
great example of how Thermo Scientific instrumentation is being
used in critical research applications that have a real impact
on human life,” comments Iain Mylchreest
vice president and general manager, Life Sciences Mass
Spectrometry,
Thermo Fisher. “Thermo Fisher is proud to support the HuPI
initiative as it is extremely important and timely to the field
of system biology.”
For more information about the Thermo Scientific
LTQ Orbitrap Discovery and LTQ Orbitrap XL hybrid linear ion
trap mass spectrometers, please call +1 800-532-4752, e-mail
analyze@thermo.com or visit
www.thermo.com/ms
###
Thermo
Scientific is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader
in serving science.
About Thermo
Fisher Scientific
Thermo
Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in
serving science, enabling our customers to make the world
healthier, cleaner and safer. With an annual revenue rate of
more than $9 billion, we employ 30,000 people and serve over
350,000 customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies,
hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research
institutions and government agencies, as well as environmental
and industrial process control settings. Serving customers
through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher
Scientific, we help solve analytical challenges from routine
testing to complex research and discovery. Thermo Scientific
offers customers a complete range of high-end analytical
instruments as well as laboratory equipment, software, services,
consumables and reagents to enable integrated laboratory
workflow solutions. Fisher Scientific provides a complete
portfolio of laboratory equipment, chemicals, supplies and
services used in healthcare, scientific research, safety and
education. Together, we offer the most convenient purchasing
options to customers and continuously advance our technologies
to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, enhance value
for customers and fuel growth for shareholders and employees
alike. Visit www.thermofisher.com.
For further press information please contact: Laura Browne,
The Scott Partnership, 1, Whiteside, Station Road, Holmes
Chapel, Cheshire CW4 8AA, United Kingdom Tel: + 44 1477 539 539
Fax: +44 1477 539540 E-mail: pr@scottpr.com