Research Focus

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques have been applied in proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics by enabling the qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic compounds with diverse polarities and molecular weights. The techniques provide valuable insights into cellular biology. Our research group focuses on developing and applying innovative MS instruments and analytical methods to characterize various biological compounds in samples, aiming to advance the field of MS-based analysis and contribute to a deeper understanding of biological systems. The research addresses the following issues:

(i) Directly and rapidly characterize gaseous, liquid, and solid samples with minimal sample preparation using ambient ionization mass spectrometry techniques. Techniques such as thermal desorption electrospray ionization (ESI) and dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI) are currently established and applied to analyze volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. These approaches will be applied to monitor biosynthetic reactions, rapidly analyze metabolites in tissues, and study the effects of volatile organic compounds on plant growth. 

(ii) We have established a new ion source that combines electrospray ionization (ESI) with dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI). This innovative ion source allows for the ionization of both polar and non-polar compounds. We are optimizing its performance and applying it to liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for the analysis of complex mixtures. We expect that this new ion source will keep the ionization capability of ESI for polar compounds while enhancing its ability to ionize less-polar compounds. 

(iii) To meet the requirements of various experiments, we have developed different LC-MS and gas chromatography (GC)-MS methods for the identification and quantification of analytes of interest in different biological samples. The results are useful to reveal the dynamic changes of metabolites during the experiments.