The Prell Group is excited to work with new rotation students Mae Voeun and Michael Crawford this quarter. It’s hard to believe a new academic year has already started!

Prof. Prell recently presented and invited talk about our results on Nanodiscs and protein assemblies with IFAMS and Collidoscope at the American Chemical Society National Conference in Philadelphia in August, and he will present an invited talk at the upcoming Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies Scientific Exchange (“SCIX”) conference in Minneapolis in September. We’re very excited to share our work and hear about other advances in Native IM-MS!

The Prell Group is pleased to announce the arrival of IFAMS, v. 1.1, an Interactive Fourier Algorithm for Mass Spectrometry. IFAMS allows users to load a mass spectrum, Fourier transform it, compute the mass of repeated subunits identified for the ion population (e.g., lipids, monomers in polymers, etc.), and plot the mass spectral envelopes of charge-state-specific mass spectra found from the Fourier analysis. Fourier spectra and charge-state-specific mass spectra are automatically saved as csv files for the user to use as desired. The program is coded in Python and is available upon request (please email scleary–AT–uoregon–DOT–edu). This algorithm is based on our recent article in Analytical Chemistry. If you use the algorithm for work that goes into a publication or presentation, please cite the article. Here is a screenshot of analysis of a Nanodisc (discoidal lipid-protein complex containing dozens of lipids and two scaffold proteins) using IFAMS: 

The Prell Group will be presenting two posters at the upcoming American Society for Mass Spectrometry Annual Conference in San Antonio: “Fourier Transform Algorithm for Analyzing Mass Spectra of Heterogeneous Ions with Repeated Subunits” and “Unfolding Pathways of Anthrax Toxin Proteins Investigated with Native Mass Spectrometry and Ion Mobility”. These will be presented on Tues., June 7th, and Thurs., June 9th, respectively.

Our paper on the use of Fourier transform to analyze highly congested mass spectra, including polymers and large biomolecular assemblies, is now available online in Analytical Chemistry!

The Prell groups welcomes its newest member, first-year undergraduate Human Physiology and Biochemistry double-major Grant Klausen!

Congratulations to Micah Donor, who has received a 2016 Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation!

Jesse Wilson, Sean Cleary, and Micah Donor all passed their PhD qualifying exams this quarter and have advanced to candidacy. Hats off to them!

Prof. Prell presented some of our current work on Monday at the 2015 ASMS Asilomar Meeting on Native Mass Spectrometry in Structural Biology held at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA, in a poster and mini-talk titled “Fourier Deconvolution for Mass Spectra of Large Assemblies with Repeated Subunits”.

Just moved our instruments into our permanent lab space in Klamath Hall.  In the proud tradition of PChem, we’ve landed in the dunge—er, um, basement.  Happy to be in our beautiful new home!