MRI: Development of a Single Particle Mass Spectrometer for Field and Laboratory Studies of the Environmental Impact of Atmospheric Aerosols and Engineered Nanoparticles

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。在重大研究仪器(MRI)项目的这一奖项的资助下，爱荷华大学的Mark Young及其同事Vicki Grassian和Paul Kleiber将开发一种单粒子气溶胶质谱仪。拟议的气溶胶质谱仪将获得在大气压下实时采样的单个颗粒物的相关尺寸和化学成分信息。拟议的质谱仪将用于对环境中的颗粒物进行一些研究，包括大气气溶胶、生物气溶胶和工程纳米颗粒。这些研究预计将在从气候科学到健康的多个领域产生影响。该项目将由一群不同的科学家在一个高度交叉的领域共同开展。质谱学(MS)是用于识别和表征嵌入复杂基质中的少量化学物种的关键分析方法之一。在该奖项中开发的质谱仪将能够识别单个气溶胶粒子的化学成分。气溶胶是包括气候科学在内的许多重要领域中的重要物种，但仍然很难研究，因为它们只占大气质量的一小部分。同时，它们会对大气的化学和物理性质产生不成比例的影响。本奖项将开发的仪器所进行的研究将有助于确定气雾剂对气候、大气化学和人类健康的影响。与这一项目的研究人员合作的年轻科学家将在开发新型尖端设备方面获得宝贵的培训--培训将为他们在科学和技术领域的职业生涯做好准备。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Mark Young and colleagues Vicki Grassian, and Paul Kleiber from the University of Iowa will develop a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer. The proposed aerosol mass spectrometer will acquire correlated size and chemical composition information on individual particles, sampled at atmospheric pressure and in real time. The proposed mass spectrometer will be used in a number of studies of particulate matter in the environment, including atmospheric aerosols, bioaerosols and engineered nanoparticles. These studies are expected to have an impact in a number of areas from climate science to health. The project will be carried out by a diverse group of scientists, working together in a highly interdisciplinary area.Mass Spectrometry (MS) is one of the key analytical methods used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species embedded in complex matrices. The mass spectrometer developed in this award will be able to identify the chemical composition of single aerosol particles. Aerosols are important species in a number of important areas including climate science, but they remain difficult to study, as they represent only a small fraction of the mass of the atmosphere. At the same time, they can have a disproportionate impact on the chemical and physical properties of the atmosphere. Research enabled by the instrumentation to be developed in this award will help to determine the impact of aerosols on climate, atmospheric chemistry and human health. The young scientists working with the researchers on this project will obtain valuable training in the development of new kinds of sophisticated equipment -- training that will be prepare them for careers in science and technology.