BiMM Bioactive Microbial Metabolites

BiMM Bioactive Microbial Metabolites

Microorganisms and their metabolites have diverse impact on our lives. The goal of the research facility, Bioactive Microbial Metabolites (BiMM) is to isolate new active substances from fungi and bacteria. The purpose of the BiMM is to provide an open research platform. The BiMM provides hardware and expertise for cooperation projects and contract work. The equipment is specially adapted to perform successful searches for new bioactive metabolites and enzymes. In addition, the BiMM is equipped to analyse the chemical properties and biological function of the found substances. We provide automated pipetting using modern liquid handling robots along with other automated operations. Another focus is the characterisation of chemical bioactive substances.

Contact: Univ.Prof. Joseph Strauss Further information: www.bimm-research.at/en/

Metabolomics

Metabolomics

Metabolomics, the latest of the so called “-omics” disciplines, offers a fascinating field for mass spectrometry based research. It makes use of system-wide approaches to investigate how phenotypes, visible as the set of metabolites, are influenced by defined (a) biotic perturbations. We mainly use LC-MS and GC-MS for the development of innovative metabolomics workflows. A special focus is put on the systematic use of stable isotope (13C, 15N, 34S)-assisted techniques to (1) facilitate the global assignment of the metabolome, (2) improve the accuracy of metabolome wide quantification, (3) chemical structure annotation and (4) the development of software tools for the automated processing of raw data.

Our research is carried out in close cooperation with partners from various disciplines such as computer science, molecular biology, mycology or plant pathology. We apply the developed methods to study the metabolomes and biological interactions of filamentous fungi, bacteria and plants.

Core activities

  • Development and application of metabolomics workflows
  • Study of microbes/plants & their interaction
  • Analytics of secondary (LC-HRMS), primary (GC-MS) & volatile (HS-GC-MS) metabolites
  • Purification, isolation and characterisation of bioactive compounds
  • Quality assurance in metabolomics

Infrastructure

  • Labs fully equipped for sample preparation
  • HPLC-HRMS(/MS) - Orbitrap MS
  • 3 x QTrap MS/MS with UPLC
  • Automated HS-SPME-GC(EI/CI)-MS
  • GC-MS for online derivatization
  • HPLC-DAD with fraction collector
  • Preparative HPLC-DAD/ELSD
  • Databases, (self-developed) software for data evaluation

Contact: Univ.Prof. Rainer Schuhmacher Further information: Metabolomics