A high-precision, fast way to measure large biomolecules without losing details
Official title: HIGHLY SELECTIVE MACROBIOMOLECULAR ISOLATION, SOFT-LANDING AND CHARACTERIZATION USING STRUCTURES FOR LOSSLESS ION MANIPULATIONS
Funded at Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories · NIH-11384604 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new technology aims to rapidly measure the mass and structure of big biological molecules using advanced ion mobility and mass spectrometry.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Richland, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $532,353 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA283818-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11384604 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients whose biomolecular samples could be studied to understand disease-related macrobiomolecular structures or mass profiles, such as researchers and clinicians collaborating on sample analysis.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not directly connected to biomolecule profiling or those without samples/labs involved in macrobiomolecule analysis may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project will develop a high-resolution, high-throughput analytical system that can profile macrobiomolecules by combining Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations with mass spectrometry. It will adapt the SLIM platform, currently used for small ions, to handle large biomolecules and enable detailed structural and mass information. The work includes optimizing ion confinement, transport, and separation for macrobiomolecules, and integrating with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for IMS/MS experiments. The goal is to reveal the heterogeneity of large biological complexes in a way that was previously impractical.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could benefit from faster and more detailed analyses of large biomolecules relevant to disease, potentially accelerating diagnostics and personalized therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous small-molecule IMS/MS work shows high-resolution separation is possible; this project extends that to larger biomolecules, which is exploratory but promising.
Where this research is happening
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Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories
Richland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ibrahim, Yehia — Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories
- Study coordinator: Ibrahim, Yehia
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.