Schematic of the MS-online-monitoring of chemical reactions in levitated droplets
Source: HU Berlin, Department of Chemistry and BAM, Instrumental Analytics Division
Chemical analyses consume valuable resources. Ongoing research is, thus, put into the minimization of these resources like time and common consumables like solvents which can impact the environment. In that line, researchers at BAM have recently developed a new way to monitor chemical reactions in levitated microliter droplets. On the example of proteins breaking down upon enzyme addition, they could prove this approach not only to be less wasteful but also goes along with a tenfold acceleration. By levitating tiny droplets, they were able to study the reaction in real-time and get a better understanding of how it progresses. The results of their experiment showed that their method is just as effective as traditional techniques that take much longer. What's more, this new approach requires less of the materials typically used, making it a more eco-friendly alternative. This breakthrough could help scientists study chemical reactions in a way that wasn't possible before and could pave the way for more environmentally friendly methods of research.
Miniaturized Protein Digestion Using Acoustic Levitation with Online High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Sebastian van Wasen, Yi You, Sebastian Beck, Jens Riedel, Dietrich A. Volmer
Published in Analytical Chemistry, volume 95, issue 8, pages 4190–4195, 2023.
BAM Department Analytical Chemistry; Reference Materials
BAM Division Instrumental Analytics