MRI: Development of an Atmospheric Pressure Ion Mobility Quadrupole Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometer for Ambient Imaging

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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, Facundo Fernandez and colleagues Thomas Orlando, Mark Sullards and Dongmei Wang from Georgia Institute of Technology will develop an atmospheric pressure ion mobility mass spectrometer for ambient imaging. The proposed imaging mass spectrometer will combine ambient ion sources with ion-mobility and hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass analyzers to achieve improved chemical separation. The proposed mass spectrometer will be used to do chemical imaging in a number of research projects, from the study of chemical defenses in marine algae to the detection of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The project will be carried out by a diverse group of young scientists, ranging from the high-school to postdoctoral level.Mass Spectrometry (MS) is one of the key analytical methods used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species embedded in complex matrices. Imaging mass spectrometry is a new application, whereby, species are collected from a material's surface and chemically analyzed. In this way, a chemically-specific photograph of an object can be obtained. Scientists may use the photograph to determine details of biological or chemical processes in intact samples, with only minimal perturbation. The young scientists working with Fernandez and colleagues will obtain first-hand experience in instrument development -- a critical skill for a technologically-driven society.