The facility focuses on special research-oriented problems, and does not compete with work that can be accomplished at commercial locations. The facility is uniquely equipped to tackle those challenging analytical tasks which demand the highest caliber equipment and expertise. Using the most precise instruments available in the field today, including high-field magnetic spectrometers capable of accurate mass measurements, the center's scientists and technicians explore the realm of biomolecules, including polypeptides and oligosaccharides. The facility's equipment and technical expertise can be used, for instance, to help a company research the nature and quantity of foreign compounds in samples that may be causing off-flavors, discoloration, or other irregularities. For each application, the technical staff selects the appropriate instrument and technique to break down a given sample, and then analyzes the resulting data.
Users receive detailed written reports describing both the prcedure and the outcome.
Since 1985, CAFT's Mass Spectrometry Support Facility has tackled beyond- routine analysis for the federal Food and Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs, and more than 150 companies from New Jersey and across the nation. The instrument will determine the molecular weights and structures of many organic molecules including small proteins and other biomolecules. It will sequence molecules such as peptides and their adducts, and determine the structures of other intermediate molecular weight molecules using high-energy collisions to fragment the molecules of interest. This instrumentation is also equipped with direct probe capabilities, including the capability to do exact mass calculations at high resolution. The instrument separates chemical compounds on the basis of boiling point and polarity and identifies them by mass up to 1,000 Daltons.