Drug Discovery and Metabolomics Core Facility
Drug Discovery and Metabolomics Core Facility
The UMKC School of Pharmacy Metabolomics and Drug Discovery Core Facility provides advanced analytical instrumentation for many aspects of the drug discovery and development process, as well as for general chemical and life sciences studies. This resource is also an essential component of the UMKC School of Pharmacy’s graduate and postdoctoral training programs, providing hands on training and access to these critical technologies.
Resources- LC-MS/MS Instruments
Sciex 3200 QTrap triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a 4 channel Shimadzu HPLC system. This system also includes a UV-vis detector useful for parallel UV-vis and MS/MS data collection. This is an entry level LC-MS/MS system with nominal (amu) mass accuracy suitable for routine small molecule and metabolite quantification
Agilent 6495c triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a 4 channel Agilent UPLC system. This is a high sensitivity system equipped with a column oven (no UV-vis). This is an advanced LC-MS/MS system with nominal (amu) mass accuracy suitable for high sensitivity (1 fg) small molecule and metabolite quantification.
Shimadzu 9030 QToF instrument equipped with 2 pumps, each a 4 channel Shimadzu Nexera UPLC, and a column oven. This is a high sensitivity and high mass accuracy system (<5 ppm, and <1 ppm with internal calibration) suitable for small molecule to intact protein studies.
Resources – Pharmaceutics
TA TGA550 Thermogravimetric Analyzer is equipped with advanced temperature control (linear controlled heating rates of 0.01 to 150 °C/min) and sensitive microbalance technology (thermally isolated balance with low drift and high sensitivity and free-hanging sample that eliminates heat sink. It enables precise evaluation of thermal stability, composition, moisture content, and decomposition behavior across a wide range of materials, including pharmaceuticals, polymers, and biomaterials.
TA DSC250 Differential Scanning Calorimeter is a high-sensitivity instrument that features a low-mass furnace, precise temperature control, rapid heating and cooling capabilities, and exceptional baseline stability. It detects the weakest thermal transitions including glass transition, melting, crystallization, cure reactions, onset of oxidation, and heats of transitions (enthalpy) in pharmaceuticals, polymers, and other materials. This allows determination of reaction kinetics, specific heat capacity, compatibility and stability of blends and alloys, effect of aging, impact of additives on crystallization.
TA HR20 Discovery Hybrid Rheometer is equipped with interchangeable geometries and permits gap position resolution of 0.02 µm. The instrument combines high torque sensitivity with a robust motor and air-bearing design, enabling accurate measurements across a broad range of viscosities and moduli. It is capable of performing steady shear measurements, frequency and amplitude sweeps, creep and recovery, stress relaxation, and temperature-dependent rheological studies.
Malvern Panalytical Zetasizer Pro (Red Label) enables precise measurement of size, electrophoretic mobility, zeta potential, and molecular weight of proteins, surfactant solutions and low solid content samples. It offers broad dynamic concentration capability and high sensitivity through its Non-Invasive Back Scatter optical design. Adaptive Correlation technology enhances sample throughput. A deep learning–based data quality guidance system increases confidence in measurement. An integrated optical filter wheel allows characterization of fluorescent samples without compromising overall instrument sensitivity.
Resources – Cell Biology/Genetics
BD Biosciences FACSCanto II Flow Cytometer is designed to automate key workflows, streamline operation, and reduce hands-on time for users. The system features a fixed-alignment flow cell within the fluidics system to minimize startup time and enhance reproducibility. The optical design maximizes signal detection for each fluorochrome in multicolor assays, increasing sensitivity and resolution. Reduced excitation losses allow more information to be captured from each sample.
Fees
For regular users from UMKC we prefer a simple annual user fee arrangement.
Contact
William G. Gutheil
816-235-2424
gutheilw@umkc.edu