Acquisition of Departmental Mass Spectrometers

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9632905 Hackert University of Texas Austin This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program and the Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI) Program will assist the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Texas Austin acquire a Mass Spectrometer. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including the following: (1) photo induced electron transfer in unusual environments (2) RNA structure and the structural basis of RNA-protein interactions (3) molecular weight and structural information of pi-beams, large synthetic molcules with noncovalent higher order structures (4) mass measurements of expanded porphyrins and synthetic carriers for antiviral agents with molecular weights of several thousand Da. (5) hydrogen-bond-driven molecular recognition between small molecules, and (6) nascent peptides. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique used to probe intimate structural details and to obtain the molecular compositions of a vast array of organic,bioorganic, and organometallic molecules. The addition of the technique of electrospray extends the range of MS to proteins and nucleic acid molecular weights far beyond any other technique. The use of electrospray ionization in combination with high resolution provides the latest techniques available in mass spectrometry. It affords the chemist one of the most powerful tools available for the characterization of compounds. The acquisition of this capability in mass spectrometry is essential for the prosecution of frontier research in many fields of chemistry.