MRI-R2: Acquisition of an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-TOF-MS) for Multidisciplinary Research and Training at Towson University

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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 and Instrumentation (MRI) program, Steven Lev and colleagues Ellen Hondrogiannis, Ryan Casey and Joel Snodgrass of Towson University will acquire an inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometer (ICP-TOF-MS), which will expand the research capabilities of the Urban Environmental Biogeochemistry Laboratory (UEBL). The new instrument will be coupled with an existing Laser Ablation (LA) system in the UEBL. Projects to be undertaken with this instrumentation include evaluation of the life history of brown bullhead catfish, investigation of the uptake of roadway zinc by earthworms, determination of the metal signatures of precursors to certain neurotoxins, and identification of the geographic origins of black pepper spices.An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer is a type of mass spectrometer that uses a high-energy plasma to generate ions. The masses of the ions produced are measured by the mass spectrometer providing an elemental analysis of the sample. The use of a laser pulse to ablate the sample combined with the high detection speed of TOF enables a complete trace metal analysis with a single laser pulse. The instrumentation provided by this award will allow undergraduate students significant research experiences and provide them with high-quality instruction on the use of modern instrumentation.