5. KONFERENCE ČESKÉ SPOLEČNOSTI PRO HMOTNOSTNÍ SPEKTROMETRII - Sborník abstraktů

Significance of the Conference

The 5th Conference of the Czech Society for Mass Spectrometry (ČSHS) brought together leading experts to discuss advances in mass spectrometry instrumentation, methodology, and applications across chemistry, biology, environmental and industrial fields.

Study Goals and Conference Organization

Czech Society for Mass Spectrometry (ČSHS) hosted its fifth meeting on April 13–15, 2016 at the Biological Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences in České Budějovice. The program comprised keynote lectures, parallel scientific sessions, workshops from leading vendors, and a poster section, aiming to share novel developments in mass spectrometry and foster collaboration among academic and industrial laboratories.

Instrumentation and Workshops

Major instrument vendors presented their latest platforms:

• Shimadzu, Bruker, Thermo Fisher Scientific, SCIEX, Waters, HPST, and LECO – mass spectrometry systems coupled with GC, LC, ion mobility, and ambient ionization sources.
• MALDI-TOF/TOF imaging (Bruker rapifleX), 4 kHz MALDI screening (FTPharmaPulse), and REIMS rapid evaporative ionization.
• High-resolution Q-TOF (Agilent 6545, Sciex X500R), triple quadrupole (Sciex 6500+), and Orbitrap (Thermo Q Exactive) for quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Ion mobility upgrades (SelexION, Waters SYNAPT) for collision cross section determination.

Main Methodological Advances

Researchers described innovative methodologies including:

• Ambient and low-temperature plasma ionization for environmental and food analysis.
• Surface acoustic wave nebulization (SAWN) and desorption nanoelectrospray (nanoDESI) for microfluidic and spatially resolved proteomics.
• Helium-tagging photodissociation (VisPD, IRPD) of gas-phase ions at 3 K for structural elucidation.
• SIFT-MS, PTR-MS, and SIFDT-MS for real-time quantification of volatile organics in breath and air quality studies.
• Combination of LC-MS/MS, MALDI, and laser desorption ICP-MS for metalloprotein characterization.
• Digital microfluidics, GC×GC-TOF, and high-throughput MALDI screening in drug discovery.

Key Scientific Sessions

Plenary and parallel sessions covered:

• Ion chemistry and energy-resolved collision-induced dissociation (Detlef Schröder Lecture).
• Organic small molecule analysis: trace volatile monitoring, complexation studies, and history of MS in the Czech Republic.
• Biological applications: proteomics, glycomics, mass spectrometry imaging of lipids and metabolites, and metallothionein analysis.
• Food, industrial and environmental analytics: official food control, nanoparticle characterization by ICP-MS, ion mobility in food analysis.
• Clinical, pharmaceutical, and metabolomic analysis: biomarker discovery, clinical metabolomics, bioimaging of brain tumors, and novel data-processing platforms.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Presented studies demonstrated how advanced MS approaches improve:

• Trace analyte quantification in complex matrices (clinical breath, leachate, foodstuff).
• Structural identification of peptides, proteins, and small molecules via hybrid MS and spectroscopy.
• High-resolution spatial mapping of biomolecules in tissues for oncology and microbiology.
• Rapid screening in drug discovery without labels.
• Monitoring of environmental pollutants and biological emissions in real time.

Future Trends and Opportunities

The conference highlighted emerging directions:

• Integration of microfluidics, digital droplet ionization, and ambient sources for single-cell and on-chip analysis.
• Enhanced data-independent acquisition (SWATH, MRMHR) and advanced software for big data metabolomics.
• Expansion of ion mobility-mass spectrometry for collision cross-section libraries and isomer separation.
• Multimodal imaging combining MALDI, DESI, LA-ICP, and SEM-EDS for comprehensive molecular maps.
• Use of atmospheric pressure plasma for sample decontamination and green analytics.

Conclusion

The 5th ČSHS conference provided a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge mass spectrometry techniques and applications. It fostered networking among scientists and industry partners, paving the way for collaborative projects in analytical chemistry, biomedicine, environmental science, and industrial quality control.

Reference

A full list of cited vendor technologies, methodologies, and supporting literature was provided in session materials.