MACI
Metabolic Analysis Cluster Innsbruck

In the life sciences, investigations of metabolic pathways, especially of energy metabolism, are gaining an increasingly important role, for example in tumor research, aging research, regeneration research and immunology, as well as, of course, metabolic physiology in the narrower sense. Technological advances in recent years have enabled increasingly precise measurements of metabolic processes, which provide important new insights into fundamental biological regulatory pathways.

The Metabolic Analysis Cluster Innsbruck, MACI for short, bundles the existing expertise and instrumentation at the University of Innsbruck and represents a competence center for metabolic research, with a focus on the analysis of mitochondrial and other metabolic pathways.

Currently, the center consists of two complementary subcenters, on the one hand a facility at Rennweg 10 (Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, IBA) for high-resolution respirometry (HRR), for which two oxygraphs (Oxygraph 2K from Oroboros Instruments) are available for the time being; on the other hand, a facility for physiological flux measurements (metabolic flux analysis, MFA) at the Technik site (Institute of Zoology), for which a flux analyzer (Seahorse XFp from Agilent Technologies) is currently available.

High-resolution respirometry (Oxygraph 2K from Oroboros Instruments) at the IBA. Microphysiometer (Seahorse XFp, Agilent Technologies) and UPLC/MS system (Aquity Arc QDa, Waters) at the Institute of Zoology.

Our instrumentation will be upgraded since October 2019 by a modern UPLC/MS (Waters Aquity Arc with Single QDa) at the Institute of Zoology, which will be used mainly for the quantification of various metabolites.

The acquisition of the Seahorse instrument was also financially supported by the Institute of Molecular Biology (AG Edenhofer) and the UPLC/MS instrument by the Institute of Biochemistry (AG Thedieck).

Furthermore, so-called "cell hotels" have been set up at both sites for external users, i.e. suitable incubators that are available for the preparation and, if necessary, post-processing of the respective experiments.

For more information please contact:

• Pidder Jansen-Dürr (IBA)
• Adolf Sandbichler (Institut für Zoologie)