Protea Biosciences Group has opened a 10,000-sq.-ft. laboratory services facility in Morgantown, WV. The new laboratory features Protea’s recently-acquired Synapt(R) G2-S high definition mass spectrometer from Waters Corporation, which will interface with Protea’s proprietary LAESI DP-1000 Direct Ionization System to provide state-of-the-art biomolecular profiling services, according to a Protea statement.

Alessandro Baldi, Protea’s vice president and general manager, remarked, “The combination of the Waters’ Synapt G-2 high definition mass spectrometer and our LAESI DP-1000 provides our customers an unparalleled level of discovery opportunities. We are offering pharmaceutical companies the ability to reach new frontiers in medicine. With this new lab and our cutting edge LAESI technology, we have built the capacity to support scientists focused on a more accurate understanding of the biological mechanisms and molecules involved in disease. The addition of LAESI-based services gives us the opportunity to perform direct ionization and 2D-3D mapping of biological samples at ambient temperature and pressure, without the need for time consuming sample preparation. Using LAESI at our new facility will increase our overall biomolecular profiling throughput and empower researchers with data that was previously unimaginable.”

Protea’s LAESI (Laser Ablation Electrospray) technology allows for 2- and 3-dimensional distribution profiles of molecules in biological samples for unambiguous drug/target interaction studies, as well as the study of bio-dynamics directly from living cell cultures. The Synapt G2-S from Waters combines ion mobility separation with high resolution mass spectrometry for identification of unknown compounds and molecular quantitation in complex biological samples.

Protea’s bioanalytical services laboratory provides biopharmaceutical companies the expertise to examine biomolecules using GLP-validated methodologies as well as innovative methods such as LAESI to accelerate the discovery process, reduce time to market, and provide more accurate and reliable information throughout the drug development process.