Biopharm company to collaborate with proteomics research lab

Winnipeg, MB — February 4, 2003 — Biopharmaceutical company, Miraculins Inc, has signed a research agreement with the University of Manitoba to use its internationally recognized time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry laboratory. The work will be conducted under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Standing and Dr. Werner Ens, professor emeritus and professor, respectively, in the Department of Physics at the University of Manitoba.

Time-of-flight technology measures the mass of molecules based upon the amount of time it takes them to travel a given distance. This mass spectrometry technique is one of the most important technologies in proteomics and an integral part of Miraculins’ protein biomarker identification process.

Dr. Standing, and his long-time collaborator Dr. Ens, together with MDS-Sciex, developed the prototype for the Qstar, a research tool said to be more powerful than conventional TOF mass spectrometers. This instrument combined Dr. Standing’s and Dr. Ens’ area of expertise with Sciex’s quadrupole technology, a fusion that gave much-improved performance (particularly when coupled with a laser desorption source, also developed in the Manitoba laboratory). The technology has rapidly become one of the more important tools in protein biomarker identification. Access to this instrumentation is an important part of the agreement, representing one of several resources available to Miraculins through its collaboration with the University of Manitoba.