Waters and Singapore’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute ally on cancer research

Waters has announced a new cancer research alliance with the Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) in Singapore.

The work will aim to develop new methods of finding cancer markers and elucidating glycosylation pathways that could form the basis of new therapeutic strategies.

Specifically, Waters and BTI will develop a glycosphingolipid (GSL) head group database containing glucose unit retention times and collision cross-section values, thereby helping to build up an experimental library for disease-related GSL glycans together, with a glycan/MS spectral library.

Waters will contribute scientific expertise, as well as a Waters Synapt G2-S High Definition Mass Spectrometry System, to aid the research. This builds on a collaborative relationship between Waters and BSI that has been ongoing since 2014.

Dr Jose Castro-Perez, director for health sciences marketing at Waters, said: "We will empower BTI to further develop novel analytical methods and establish a comprehensive experimental glycan spectral library for cancer glycobiology focusing on glycosphingolipids."

GSLs are known to play a key role in cell growth, interaction and signalling. Alterations to their structure may result in diseases or promote the development of different types of cancer.