MRI: Acquisition of a FT ICR Mass Spectrometer

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With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, the Chemistry Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will acquire a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT ICR MS). The instrumentation will further catalyze the research efforts in Chemistry and Life Sciences, with particular emphasis on the fields of protein folding, dynamics and interaction; glycosaminoglycans structure-function relationships; design and optimization of protein-polymer conjugates; mechanism of protein aggregation and amyloidosis; and signaling in biological systems. It will also enable researchers to develop new methodologies to study biopolymer behavior based on hydrogen/deuterium exchange.Mass spectrometry (MS) is used to identify the chemical composition of a sample and determine its purity by measuring the mass of the molecular constituents in the sample after they are ionized and detected by the mass spectrometer. A Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT ICR MS) is especially useful for high resolution mass measurements in studies of large macromolecules such as proteins. The instrument will be used in research projects by post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates strengthening their workforce training in areas critical to modern chemistry and related life sciences. It will strengthen the scientific infrastructure at UMass-Amherst enhancing its ability to make important and lasting contributions to the chemical and related life sciences.