Systems biology team up

AB SCIEX has announced that it will be working with scientists at the ETH Zurich Institute of Molecular Systems Biology as part of a Swiss biology programme to accelerate analysis and improve results for metabolomics. The work will focus on developing quantitative, broad-coverage, high-throughput metabolomics for systems biology based on AB SCIEX mass spectrometry technology.

The team will be led by Dr Nicola Zamboni and Dr Uwe Sauer. “Our partnering with AB SCIEX on new method development for metabolomics will drive the field of systems biology forward by addressing the need for more quantitative, comprehensive data that can be quickly obtained,” said Dr Sauer. “The new method we are currently developing could be used for any analysis of any biological system.”

According to the company, the team is hoping to develop a new method that will reduce the time to conduct quantitative analysis of metabolites from approximately one hour to less than three minutes, while delivering comprehensive results. It is reported that this advancement will speed up the availability of critical information relevant for analysing biological systems and allow scientists to better analyse how metabolite levels are related to metabolic fluxes and protein levels within complex networks.