July 08, 2013 
Award is PNNL's 90th in 50 years of R&D 100 contest
RICHLAND, Wash. - An instrument that quickly and more effectively analyzes complex biological and environmental samples was today named one of the past year's 100 most significant scientific and technological products or advances.
The innovation was acknowledged by R&D Magazine in their yearly R&D 100 Awards competition and was developed by researchers at the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab.
PNNL has now won 90 R&D 100 Awards - sometimes referred to as the "Oscars of Innovation" - since the contest began in 1963.
Identification of small molecules that indicate disease, known as biomarkers, promises to significantly enhance human heath through early diagnosis and customized treatment. However, improved research instruments for separation and identification of specific molecules in complex samples are needed to achieve this objective.
PNNL researchers have recently developed a new instrument that can process such complex samples rapidly and accurately, detecting rare yet important molecules for early diagnosis that cannot be adequately characterized using existing instruments.
The PNNL-developed instrument effectively merges 2 complementary analysis techniques - one known as multiplexed ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and the other as ultrafast quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry - into the Combined Orthogonal Mobility & Mass Evaluation Technology, or CoMet.
The combination of the 2 distinct approaches enables CoMet to exhaustively characterize samples, some of which have many different components that vary greatly in abundance. This wide range of quantities commonly trips up less advanced separation methods. The exceptional speed of IMS permits CoMet to analyze large numbers of samples rapidly and inexpensively. This can be crucial in biomedical research, clinical practices, natural product management - where sample analysis is conducted by oil and mining industries - and in environmental studies.
CoMet has been used in collaborations with Oregon Health Sciences University and the University of Washington to investigate several diseases and with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for environmental studies. The technology was created at EMSL, DOE's Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab located at PNNL, and integrated into several instruments that are accessible for use by the scientific community through EMSL's competitive peer review process. Developed using mass spectrometers from Agilent Technologies of Santa Clara, Calif., CoMet has been licensed by Agilent and commercially introduced at the National ASMS Meeting in June 2013.
PNNL staff involved in developing and commercializing the innovation will be recognized at the yearly R&D 100 Awards ceremony in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 7.
Tags: Environment, Fundamental Science, Awards and Recognizes, Biology, Biomolecular Science
EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab, is a national scientific user facility sponsored by the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. Located at Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland, Wash., EMSL offers an open, collaborative environment for scientific discovery to researchers around the world. Its integrated computational and experimental resources enable researchers to realize important scientific insights and create new technologies. Follow EMSL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. PNNL employs 4,500 staff, has an yearly budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the D.O.E. by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965. For more information, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
