Acquisition of a Mossbauer Spectrometer

在重大研究仪器(MRI)计划的支持下，乌尔辛斯学院化学系将获得一台穆斯堡尔(MB)光谱仪。圣约瑟夫大学、纽约州立大学石溪分校、德克萨斯农工大学和特拉华大学的教职员工也将使用这种光谱仪进行研究。穆斯堡尔研究的范围从小分子铁化合物的研究到蛋白质中新的铁位置的探索。项目将集中在分析超精细光谱，以确定样品中不同的铁位置的数量，它们的氧化和自旋状态以及磁性行为。这些参数将根据电子模型进行解释，使研究人员能够预测分子结构和功能。由于铁生物无机化学的巨大发展，穆斯堡尔谱仪现在更多地出现在大学化学系中。乌尔辛斯学院甲基溴光谱实验室的建立将有利于费城地区的化学研究，涉及物理、化学和生物化学的科学家。由于MB光谱学可能应用于各种生物样品和化合物的分析，这种仪器的存在应该会对各种研究项目的学生产生吸引力。因此，培训潜力是巨大的。这些项目的高度跨学科特征表明，从合成和物理无机化学到蛋白质光谱等领域都有很大的影响。

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.