The development of sensitive high-resolution mass spectrometers used as detectors for liquid- or gas chromatographic systems have enabled the possibility of measuring the abundances of thousands of chemical compounds in a single sample. The measurement technique is applied to the study of complex systems such as biological or environmental systems. Therefore, the samples, e.g. being biofluids, particles, or sediments, are also complex. Sample preparation is kept to a minimum to avoid loss of potentially interesting compounds. The generated data is complex and there are generally more variables than samples. This emerging mode of measurement opens great possibilities for new scientific discoveries. At the same time it poses new challenges for data processing and analysis – and the aim of the project is to tackle these challenges with new algorithms and software tools.
orbitrap
