Murray Group News – Page 2 – Murray Mass Spectrometry Group

ASMS 2023: Social Media for Mass Spectrometry

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Premise

Social media for mass spectrometry dates back to periodic newsletters sent through the mail which were followed by electronic mailing lists, Usenet newgroups, and websites, leading to the platforms of today such as Facebook and Twitter. The goal of this presentation is to quantify the use of social media use in the field of mass spectrometry and by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, explore the uses and utility of current social media platforms, and identify opportunities for improved communication in the field.

Introduction

Through the latter part of the 20th century, scientific organizations distributed news of general interest through quarterly newsletters sent through postal services. The newsletter for the ASTM E-14 subcommittee and later the American Society for Mass Spectrometry was known as The Spectaker. As the Internet became more widely used in the 1990s, manually curated and automated mailing lists were used increasingly for the distribution of information. Usenet is a text-based distributed discussion that was widely used in the 1990s and was associated with Unix computer systems found at many universities. A Usenet newsgroup for mass spectrometry called sci.techniques.mass-spec was established in 1995 and operated until 2010. In the 21st century, information distribution and discussion has moved to the World Wide Web and, with the increasing use of smartphones and other mobile devices, have become ubiquitous in society and the sciences.

Social Media Platforms

Social media sites can be broadly classified based on the format of their content. For example, YouTube and TikTok focus on video whereas WhatsApp and WeChat on messaging. The popularity of a social media site can be quantified through the monthly active users (MAU) which is the number of unique users who visit the site each month. The table to the right gives the top ten most popular social media sites with the year they were started, primary content, and millions of MAU (Ortiz-Ospina, OurWorldInData.org, 2019).

The top three discussion sites are Webio, Reddit, and Twitter, each with more than 300 million MAU. Of the three, Twitter is most widely used currently by the mass spectrometry community and is the main focus of this presentation.

Twitter Post Dataset

The dataset used for this presentation was obtained from the company TrackMyHashtag and comprises 80,036 Twitter posts and ancillary data made between 24 March 2009 and 31 December 2022 that contain the hashtag #MassSpec. This hashtag is the earliest and most widely used of those associated with mass spectrometry. The data was processed using Microsoft Excel to generate the plots shown in this presentation.

Twitter Statistics for #MassSpec

A dataset containing all Twitter posts using the hashtag #MassSpec from its first use in March 2009 through the end of 2022 was used to investigate the use of a social media platform by the mass spectrometry community.

The plot above shows tweets, retweets, and replies to tweets with the hash tag #MassSpec each year from 2009 – 2022. Rarely used before 2014, retweets now constitute half of all posts. Replies make up less than 2% of posts.

The popularity of a hashtag can be quantified by reach and impressions. Reach is the number of users to whom the content is displayed whereas impressions is the the number of times content is delivered to a feed or timeline. Each #MassSpec tweet reaches about 1000 users on average.

Hashtags in Mass Spectrometry

The top fifteen hashtags occurring with #MassSpec are shown below for the complete dataset (left) and for 2022 only (right).

For the past ten years, the hashtag #ASMS[year] has been used for the yearly conference. For example, #ASMS2018 indicated the San Diego ASMS meeting and the 2023 meeting in Houston is represented by #ASMS2023. From 2015 to 2020 there were 100-200 tweets with the conference hashtag but this increased to more than 500 in 2022. There are around 50 tweets per year with the hashtag #ASMS.

Users

Before 2012, there were fewer than 100 Twitter users using the hashtag #MassSpec and this number increased to greater than 1000 in 2017, more than 2000 in 2018, and more than 3000 in 2020.

The number of tweets per user (above inset) has for the most part remained around 2-3 even as the number of users has increased. The exception was 2011-2013 when the number of tweets per user was more than 10.

Twitter posts are dominated by prolific posters (above). The top ten posters account for 40% of the tweets containing the #MassSpec hashtag. In 2022, only 15 users posted an average of more than one Twitter post per week.

Conclusions

A database of Twitter post “tweets” was used as gauge of the utility of social media for the mass spectrometry community. Between 2009 and 2022, more than 80,000 tweets were posted with the hashtag #MassSpec as an indicator of their relevance to the topic. On average, each tweet reaches 1000 users and displayed 3000 times. Although nearly half of all tweets are retweets, the rate of replies is less than 2% indicating passive engagement. This is further evidenced by posting dominated by the most prolific users.

Social media is a valuable resource for mass spectrometry, but its utility can be improved through wider use and higher engagement. Potential routes to improvement include

Greater social media engagement by mass spectrometry societies and organizations through dedicated social media coordinators.
Coordination of employment and recruiting on social media.
Automated posting of mass spectrometry journal content using RSS syndication feeds.
Social media-based outreach for education.

Without a larger top-down coordinated effort, mass spectrometry on social media will likely remain largely passive and unlikely to achieve its full potential as a medium for information, education, and outreach.

Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DBI-1951447.

Links

Murray Group ASMS 2023 Presentations

New Account on Mastodon

I set up an account on a Mastodon instance: mastodon.online/@kkmurray

Good hash tags seem to be #massspec and #teammassspec

Job Opening in the LSU Mass Spectrometry Facility

LSUAM Science - Department of Chemistry - Associate - Research 5

The Louisiana State University Department of Chemistry is offering a position as Research Associate in the Mass Spectrometry Facility (MSF), which is located on the LSU main campus in Baton Rouge. The MSF is a core facility that serves all researchers and student of the LSU system as well as partners in the academia and the private sector both in Louisiana as well as in other states. The MSF is staffed by two research associates, and further staffed with graduate and undergraduate students that perform duties in the core facilities as instrument assistants. The facility maintains 5 mass spectrometers: An Agilent 6230 ESI TOF, an Agilent 5977 GC-MS, a Bruker MALDI UltrafleXtreme, a Bruker amaZon Ion Trap and Thermo Scientific Q-Exactive. The facility is equipped to perform most sample preparation techniques in many “-omics” fields as well as in organic chemistry and polymer science. The position will focus on operation of the ESI TOF and GC-MS instruments, and the RA5 will be trained in operation of the additional mass spectrometers present in the facility and the associated equipment. The RA5 will receive training in various sample preparation techniques. The candidate will report to the facility senior personnel, and will communicate directly with users about their projects, samples, and data analysis.

Job Opening for Assistant Professor Analytical Chemistry at LSU

LSUAM Science - Department of Chemistry - Assistant Professor

The Department of Chemistry, housed within LSU’s College of Science, seeks a tenure-track faculty member in analytical chemistry for an August 2023 start date. Candidates are required to have strong experience in analytical chemistry, broadly defined. The successful candidate will join a dynamic research environment and will have multiple opportunities to collaborate within the Chemistry Department (see research themes below) and across the Louisiana State University System. Inclusiveness and diversity are critical to the success of the Department, the College of Science, and the University. The selected candidate will be expected to foster an environment that is supportive and welcoming of all groups.

LSU Professor Receives Over $1M in Federal Grants to Expand Mass Spectrometry Facility

https://www.lsu.edu/science/chemistry/news/2022/august/msf-funding.php

Bruker Rapiflex Mass Spectrometer Funded by NSF MRI

MRI: Acquisition of a MALDI Tandem Mass Spectrometer (MALDI MS/MS) for Imaging, Biological Research and Chemical Materials Characterization

CHE-2215823

This award is jointly funded by the Major Research Instrumentation Program, the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Professor Kermit Murray from Louisiana State University, on behalf of from 11 investigators in 4 departments across the university, is acquiring a matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS) equipped with a photodiode array. In general, mass spectrometry (MS) is one of the key analytical methods used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species in complex samples. MALDI TOF combines gentle ionization (ideal for producing intact ions of peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, synthetic polymers, and other similarly sized species) with a detection mode that offers an excellent balance between sensitivity and accuracy across a wide range of samples. The acquisition strengthens the research infrastructure at the university and within the regional. The instrument broadens participation by giving hands-on access to a diverse student population. The instrument is also used in outreach activities.

The award is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels. It especially impacts studies correlating molecular structure, orientation and dynamics. Researchers use the MALDI-TOF-MS to study a number of exciting projects. Research will be enabled that is aimed at the development of a comprehensive approach to mass spectrometry imaging that is quantitative and capable of biomolecule identification. MALDI imaging is combined with IR and UV laser ablation sample transfer for liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. In addition, novel approaches to further improve the MALDI technology will be developed. Two new platforms are developed that improve biological imaging. Researchers are investigating the effect of coronal charge patterning on the equilibrium aggregate structure of amphiphilic ionic block copolymers. The impact of structural precision in the properties and functions of discrete linear and branched synthetic polymers are being studied. MALDI is being used to validate recently developed high-resolution and high- speed Raman micro-spectroscopy method to detect lipid modulation and image spatial distribution of lipids in vitro and ex vivo brain tissues. The instrument enables the elucidation of the underlying chemistry of homogeneous lignin depolymerization using a contactless gas phase reactor and upgrade fast pyrolysis of lignin toward formation of biofuel. The instrument is aiding the design, synthesis and study of the photophysical properties and potential applications of new fluorophores that absorb and emit in the visible and near-infrared region of the optical spectrum (400–900 nm). Among the current fluorophores under investigation, boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes display a rich array of photophysical and optoelectronic properties. Fundamental knowledge will be gained on alkyne metathesis reactions and the creation of design rules toward catalysts with higher activity and broader substrate scope. This includes the design and synthesis of new catalyst and ligand systems and analysis of their reactivities both experimentally and computationally. Additional studies enabled are the developmental competence of in vitro matured oocytes for use in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), the synthesis and application of a specific class of ionic liquid (IL) compounds termed, “group of uniform materials based on organic salts” (GUMBOS), which are used as MALDI matrixes for imaging applications, and uncovering the rules governing changes in electron transfer after encapsulation of redox active molecules in confined spaces. Researchers are studying molecular catalysts containing metal-ligand multiple bonds that are driven by renewable energy for fuel production and industrial applications.

Waters Synapt Instrument Funded by NIH

The proposal “Waters Synapt XS Mass Spectrometer for Louisiana State University” 1S10OD030429-01A1 with PI Kermit Murray has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for $599,999.

This proposal requests funding for a Waters Synapt XS mass spectrometer that will support biomedical research at Louisiana State University. The instrument will be placed in the LSU Department of Chemistry Mass Spectrometry Facility which is currently the only user facility on the LSU campus where mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and other analysis to support NIH investigators. The acquisition of the proposed instrument will allow researchers at LSU to conduct metabolomics experiments for which they are currently dependent on outside facilities. This will allow NIH-funded PIs to conduct a larger portion of their experiments directly at LSU, which allows for overall more efficient research. Acquisition of a metabolomics-oriented mass spectrometer will complement the current portfolio of mass spectrometry instrumentation and provide a comprehensive platform for basic and translational research that is at the center of the biomedical research mission of the university. Acquisition of the Waters Synapt XS mass spectrometer will provide a resource that is currently available to LSU biomedical researchers and enable them to expand the scope and efficiency of their work.

Acquisition of the Waters Synapt XS mass spectrometer will support the research of a diverse group of biomedical researchers Louisiana State University in the College of Science, Agricultural Center, and the School of Veterinary Medicine and adds to the NIH support for the State of Louisiana. The instrument will support research aimed biomedical research across the Baton Rouge LSU campus and will allow researchers from multiple units to conduct metabolomics experiments for which they currently dependent on outside facilities.

United States patent 11,371,913 Methods And Devices for Sample Capture Using Gas-Pulse Nanoparticle Displacement

Abstract

Murray Kermit, K., Donnarumma, F., & Stephenson, J. (2022). US Patent No. US 11371913 B2.

The present disclosure provides for sampling instruments and methods of collecting sample particles. The sampling instrument can include a high-pressure pulsed valve coupled to a gas flow system to displace a sample from a surface. Also included can be a voltage supply coupled to a voltage switch, a suction device, a sample collector, and a collection filter. To collect a sample, extractive particles can be deposited onto a sample present on a substrate. At least a portion of the sample becomes coupled to a portion of the extractive particles to form sample particles. High-pressure gas can be discharged at the sample, thereby aerosolizing a portion of the sample particles to disperse aerosolized sample particles. A portion of the aerosolized sample particles can be collected onto a collection filter to form a collected sample.