Novel Mass Spectrometry Mutation Screening for Contaminant Impact Analysis

The objective of this program is to develop innovative mass spectrometry technology to achieve fast mutation analysis and to reveal the linkage between gene mutation and contaminants. Mass spectrometry has the potential to achieve very fast speed sample analysis. However, the poor mass resolution and low detection efficiency for long DNAs limit the broad application for mutation analysis. New innovative approaches for improving mass resolution and detection sensitivity needs to be pursued to help to achieve rapid DNA screening. Allele specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) coupled with mass spectrometry can be very valuable for DNA mutation detection. This technology is expected to be applied to wildlife species such as fish for the genotoxic effect of hazardous waste to be assessed at DNA level