Biological Mass Spectrometry Core Facility

Services & Equipment

Our Services

Services available in English and French. / Services disponibles en français et en anglais.

We provide a wide range of mass spectrometry (MS) services across several omics fields, including proteomics, metabolomics and lipidomics. We offer sample processing, peptides desalting, MS data acquisition and even data analysis services! Examples of available MS-services include:

  • Bottom-up proteomics (Data-Dependent and -Independent Acquisition, DDA and DIA respectively)
  • Lipidomics (Untargeted and Targeted)
  • Targeted compound and drug monitoring
  • HPLC-UV purification and detection
  • Variety of validated sample preparation routines
  • Computational hardware and bioinformatic services
  • Customized analyses (contact bms@dal.ca for more information)

How much does it cost to use our services?

Every project is different! We have carefully curated cost-models that are always changing based on the fluctuating costs of reagents and the designs of different types of experiments. Please reach out to us at bms@dal.ca for accurate costing of your project if you are just curious or you need the information for a grant proposal. 

Our Equipment

Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer

 

The Orbitrap Fusion Lumos is built on the Tribrid architecture and includes quadrupole mass filter, linear ion trap and Orbitrap mass analyzers. System specifications: resolving power up to 500,000 FWHM, with isotopic fidelity up to 240,000 FWHM at m/z 200; Synchronous Precursor Selection (SPS) for MS and MSn experiments; scan rates of up to 30 Hz in OTMSn, and up to 40 Hz in ITMSn; <3 ppm RMS using external calibration. The Lumos can be interfaced to the ACQUITY M-Class UPLC system for nano-micro flow rate experiments, as well as the Vanquish UPLC for analytical flow rate work. The Lumos can optionally be used with the FAIMS Pro ion mobility interface for greater sensitivity in a variety of analysis types.

timsMetabo mass spectrometer

 

The timsMetabo mass spectrometer from Bruker offers a cutting-edge platform for a variety of -omics analyses. The timsMetabo combines trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) and Mobility Range Enhancement (MoRE) with recent advances in ion detection (Athena Ion Processor) to deliver metabolomic, lipidomic, and proteomic analyses at speed, depth, and scale. The timsMetabo in the BMS Core is paired with a Waters ACQUITY M-Class system to support nano- and micro-scale chromatography during sample introduction to the mass spectrometer via the VIP-HESI or CaptiveSpray ion sources. 

QTRAP 5500 mass spectrometer

 

The QTRAP 5500 mass spectrometer from AB Sciex offers a robust and reliable platform for targeted and other types of directed mass spectrometry experiments. The instrument offers fast and sensitive scanning to facilitate robust and reliable monitoring of target analytes. The QTRAP 5500 is interfaced with an Agilent 1290 Infinity II UPLC system (with a Multisampler module capable of holding thousands of samples) and can be operated with the SELEXion ion mobility interface to enhance overall specificity of data acquisition.

Other equipment

 

The BMS CORE houses a variety of other instruments and hardware devices that support sample processing and analysis. This includes: thermomixers; SpeedVac centrifuge; HPLC hardware for fractionation/purification/desalting; SPE manifold and vacuum manifold; data processing workstations; and all the reagents you require for sample processing and analysis!

Decommissioned instruments

QExactive

Decommission date: April 2026


The QExactive is a quadrupole-Orbitrap platform capable of analyzing a variety of complex sample types. System specifications: Resolving power up to 140,000; Maximum scan speed of 12 Hz at a resolution setting of 17,500 @ m/z 200; Intra-scan dynamic range of 5000:1; <3ppm RMS mass accuracy; 50 to 6,000 m/z mass range. The QExactive is interfaced to a Vanquish UPLC system for sample introduction at analytical flow rates. 

VelosPro

Decommission date: January 2021

The VelosPRO provides ultra-high resolution (maximum resolution > 100,000 at m/z 400) and accurate mass acquisitions (< 1 ppm RMS using internal calibration) for confident structural elucidation. Powered by Orbitrap technology, this high mass accuracy system increases the confidence of peptide identification in com­plex samples by minimizing false positive identification. This systems can perform collision induced dissociation (CID), high energy collisional dissociation (HCD) and electron transfer dissociations (ETD). In combination, these fragmentation modes provide extensive structural information for peptide identification and post-translational modification studies. Precise intact protein analysis, rapid quantitation of low level isobarically-labeled peptides and multiple fragmentation techniques can all be performed in this a single instrument.