• Using Waters SYNAPT™ High-Definition Mass Spectrometer (HDMS), scientists at the University of San Agustin aspire to become a regional research hub for natural medicine drug discovery.
• Scientists will use the SYNAPT HDMS equipped with MALDI and DESI imaging technologies to identify whether drug substances and their metabolites reach their intended targets within liver, kidney, and heart tissues.
• Researchers seek to bring safe, effective, and affordable antibiotics and anticancer medications to Filipinos and the rest of the world.

The newly-commissioned MALDI/DESI Mass Spectrometry Imaging Laboratory within the University of San Agustin Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology is equipped with a Waters ACQUITY™ UPLC™ System paired with a Waters SYNAPT HDMS. The purchase of this equipment was sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development grant-in-aid program.

The SYNAPT HDMS combines Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI) and Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) technologies, capable of advanced molecular visualization in human or animal tissue samples. Together, these complementary technologies will enable University researchers to precisely determine the biodistribution, metabolism, accumulation, and evaluation of promising new drug compounds derived from natural sources.

"Our collaborative partnership with Waters has enabled the establishment of our mass spectrometry imaging laboratory, the first in the Philippines," said Dr. Doralyn Dalisay, Director, Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, University of San Agustin. "The ability to monitor drug biodistribution and metabolism with Waters' advanced MALDI/DESI time-of-flight imaging mass spectrometry technology is accelerating our efforts and those of the Philippine government, to bring new chemical entities as potential drugs into the market to alleviate cancer and infectious diseases."

"Prof. Dalisay and her research team are using high-end research instrumentation from Waters to establish her laboratory as a research center of excellence. This work will allow the University of San Agustin to recruit and retain talented Filipino graduates and post-docs who might otherwise emigrate to university laboratories outside the Philippines," said David Curtin, Vice President, APAC, Waters Corporation. "Waters is proud to play a part in enabling this research and to help support the work of Prof. Dalisay and her team to become a regional research hub for natural medicine drug discovery."