Purchase of a Liquid Chromatograph-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer

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With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multiuser Instrument Acquisition (CRIF:MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at California Institute of Technology will acquire a liquid chromatograph-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF) system. Representatives from the numerous projects that would take advantage of the new LC-TOF are the following: a) identification of the metabolites of libraries of novel cytochromes P450 that are generated by methods of directed evolution; b) identification and quantification of the oligomeric components of aerosols with the aim of understanding their global impact on health and climate; c) identification of the chemical composition of the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn; d) guided organic synthesis where complex bioactive molecules are synthesized by novel, and more efficient pathways; and e) identification and quantification of new bioactive molecules in plants with interesting pharmacological properties. Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection is an extremely powerful technique used for the separation and analysis of complex mixtures. In addition to providing analytical support for a broad range of exciting scientific problems, the new LC-TOF will play a more important educational role. First is the enhancement of the current educational and research activities of the graduate students and post-docs who will receive mass spectrometric training and gain ready access to this new LC-TOF to implement their research. Second and more importantly, is the enhancement of the learning experiences of the undergraduates who participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and Minority Undergraduate Research Fellowship programs. These programs sponsor talented undergraduates to spend a summer working in a research lab on the Caltech campus, and those whose projects require mass spectroscopy will receive training and hands-on experience at this facility.