# Sciex 6500+ QTrap Mass Spectrometer

> **NIH NIH S10** · SCRIPPS FLORIDA · 2021 · $485,845

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 This proposal seeks funds to purchase a Sciex 6500+ Qtrap mass spectrometer with
integrated Sciex M5 microflow UHPLC to become part of the drug metabolism and
pharmacokinetic (DMPK) core. This system will be used to quantitate the concentration of small
molecules in plasma and tissue samples from mouse pharmacokinetic studies. The Sciex 6500
Qtrap is ideally suited to this function and is the workhorse instrument for the analysis of PK
samples in pre-clinical laboratories in the pharmaceutical industry. The Scripps DMPK core runs
over 200 mouse PK studies per year and, when possible, utilizes microsampling techniques.
Microsampling requires superior analytical sensitivity because the technique collects a limited
sample, 5-10 µl plasma. The advantage of microsampling is that it allows triplicate PK data to be
generated from three mice, instead of using twelve or twenty-four mice as have traditionally been
required. Analysis of mouse pharmacokinetic samples in the Scripps DMPK core is currently done
on a Sciex 5500 mass spectrometer. Microsampling techniques are currently utilized for
approximately 80% of the compounds tested at the Scripps DMPK core. The decision to use
microsampling or revert to a traditional large sample collection design using higher numbers of
mice is based on the planned dose and an evaluation of the analytical limit of quantitation, which
is determined prior to conduct of the in-life portion of the PK study. This shared instruments
currently supports a range of research projects originating from multiple NIH funded projects
associated with seven institutions. The level of engagement for each of these projects with the
DMPK core is high, and the core is written into multiple HIN funded grants. To maximize the
impact of NIHs investment and assure the instrument remains productive for a period of at least
five years, Scripps guarantees maintenance and operational costs, including staff to oversee the
instrument, and will purchase a service contract with the instrument manufacturer that will cover
all repairs and yearly preventative maintenance for five years. This shared instrument will be
installed in the Scripps Florida DMPK core and will be operated by a group of experienced mass
spectroscopists within the DMPK core.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10177437
- **Project number:** 1S10OD030332-01
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Darin Cameron
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $485,845
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-15 → 2022-06-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10177437

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10177437, Sciex 6500+ QTrap Mass Spectrometer (1S10OD030332-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10177437. Licensed CC0.

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