Organic Acids, Catalysts, and Mass Spectrometry

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The Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program in the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation supports Professor Steven Kass of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, for combined IR and MS investigations of new acids and base reactivity, H-bonding catalysts, and gas phase reactive intermediates. The goals of this work are to develop structure-reactivity relationships for a wide range of bioinspired catalytic acids and bases, and to understand the fundamental principles by which a new class of chiral acids and bases can be used for enantioselective reactions. These investigations will include the determination of ionized amino acids and peptide structures, non-bonding interactions, hydrogen-deuterium exchange sites, and the "mobile proton controversy." The research will have broad ranging implications from pharmaceutical development and the fabrication of nanomaterials, to a better understanding of enzyme catalyzed reactions.Broader impacts of the research include interdisciplinary training opportunities for students, from experiment to theory and from organic synthesis to mass spectrometry. The research is intertwined with many practical aspects of science that could lead to huge societal benefits such as the preparation of new medicines and the development of noninvasive detection methods for human diseases. The PI is directly and intensely involved with the training of undergraduates through an REU program, and through a summer research program at the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute.