Acquisition of a Mossbauer Spectrometer

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With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Ursinus College will acquire a Mossbauer (MB) spectrometer. Faculty at St. Joseph's University, SUNY-Stony Brook, Texas A&M University and the University of Delaware will also carry out research using this spectrometer. Mossbauer investigations range from studies of small molecule iron compounds to the exploration of novel iron sites in proteins. Projects will focus on analyzing hyperfine spectra to determine the number of distinct iron sites in the sample, their oxidation and spin state and magnetic behavior. These parameters will be interpreted in terms of electronic models, allowing the investigators to make predictions of molecular structure and function. Owing to the great expansion of iron bio-inorganic chemistry, Mossbauer spectrometers are now more frequently found in academic Chemistry departments. The establishment of the MB spectroscopy lab at Ursinus College will benefit the chemical research in the Philadelphia region, involving scientists in Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry. Because of the possible applications of MB spectroscopy in the analysis of a variety of biological samples and chemical compounds, the presence of such instrumentation should prove attractive for students in a variety of research programs. Thus the training potential is significant. The highly interdisciplinary character of the projects indicates a strong impact in fields ranging from synthetic and physical inorganic chemistry to spectroscopy of proteins.