Agilent Technologies and the University of Cincinnati have announced the opening of a centre at which research teams throughout the Americas will study the impact of metals on biological systems
The University of Cincinnati/Agilent Technologies Metallomics Center of the Americas will research such applications as the role of metal compounds as predictors of stroke damage and new detection methods for chemical warfare agents.
The centre's charter is to support research in all fields related to the analysis of metals and metal species and their interactions within biological and ecological systems.
Applications include neurological research, metalloproteomics, metal tags for ultra-trace-level organic compound determination, and environmental monitoring, among many others, by using liquid chromatography (LC) paired with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) and mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
"We're excited about the launch of this international collaboration, which promises to bring cutting-edge technology to our research labs that will benefit both our students and our faculty," says University of Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher.
"This important centre is a perfect fit with| our strategic vision, which positions us as an urban research university that works to put students at the center of all we do, and to build on Agilent's excellence in research, academics and community partnerships".
"Agilent has worked with the University of Cincinnati for the last five years in providing mass spectrometry and related equipment so that the campus could begin moving into metallomics research," adds Agilent's Chris Toney, vice president and general manager, chemical analysis/mass spectrometer systems.
"Today's opening marks a key milestone toward continued research to help address critical diseases and environmental concerns".
Chemistry professor and center director Joe Caruso said: "The Metallomics Center of the Americas is the first of its kind in the world.
"The establishment of this center portends great things for a wide spectrum of colleges at the university and for the center's many partners throughout the Americas".
The roster of partners, expected to expand globally in the future, currently includes: Argentina Atomic Energy Commission; Indiana University (USA); National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina National Research Council (Canada); Research and Development Center for Industrial Fermentation (Argentina); Laboratory of Environmental Research and Services (Argentina); University of Guanajuato (Mexico); University of San Luis (Argentina); and University of Sao Paolo Nuclear Energy Center (Brazil).
"My team has been collaborating with Dr Caruso since 2001, with an emphasis on various metallomics approaches in a variety of biological materials," said researcher Kasia Wrobel of the University of Guanajuato.
"Being a part of Metallomics Center will help us leverage our resources and knowledge pan-regionally to speed the path to insight and scientific discovery".
The University of Cincinnati has had a long history and a worldwide reputation in metals research, starting in 1930, when the Kettering Laboratory (now the Department of Environmental Health) was established for analysing research on lead.
The establishment of the Metallomics Center of the Americas has been led by the university's vice president for research, Sandra Degen, and by McMicken College of Arts and Sciences dean Karen Gould.
