270045 PR Practical Course in Food Toxicology (2024S)

Objective:
In a ca. 2-week research project the students will learn how to operate on state-of-the-art mass spectrometric (MS) equipment to solve research questions in the fields of exposome research, food safety, and analytical toxicology. They know the necessary steps of LC-MS method development, optimization, and data evaluation. Discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches and related applications will be an important part of the lab work. Students will work on real-life samples and perform exposure measurements. The students will acquire the ability to critically evaluate their results and discuss them properly.
The course is therefore recommended for MSc and PhD students interested in working on mass spectrometers on real-world research questions related to toxicological and biomedical exposome research. This course is independent of the PR Practical Course in Food Toxicology In vitro Focus.

Contents:
The course is divided into:
(1) An information meeting (1h) will be held where exact dates and essential literature will be discussed. Laboratory safety instructions and an introduction to the topic. The background and context of the problem will be discussed. The required theoretical knowledge is also to be acquired through self-study (of the literature provided).
(2) A theoretical lecture (3h) on the principles of exposome research to lay the theoretical background.
(3) Practical work in the lab including sessions for guided and independent data evaluation. This part will include sample preparation and mass spec data acquisition aspects. Throughout the course, students acquire practical skills that will further deepen their theoretical knowledge. The content of this seminar includes the coupling of liquid chromatographic separation methods with different types of mass spectrometers (triple quadrupoles, Q-ToF, Orbitrap) that might be employed.

Method:
The contents of the course are developed through practical exercises, discussions, and self-studying.
To get the best possible benefit from this course, it is recommended to have attended the lecture 270118 Food and Environmental Contaminants and/or the seminar 270123 Mass spectrometric applications in food chemistry though this is no prerequisite. This practical course is open to PhD students of the University of Vienna and external students and trainees within the framework of the Exposome Austria research infrastructure.