MRI Consortium: Acquisition of LC-MS/MS Instrumentation for Undergraduate Research and Education

鲍登学院的Elizabeth Stemmler教授和他的同事Patsy Dickinson、Dharni Vasudean、Danielle Dube和Benjamin Gorske将获得主要研究仪器(MRI)项目颁发的这一奖项，他们将获得一台具有串联功能的四极质谱仪和各种附件。该建议将加强各级的研究、培训和教育，特别是在下列领域：(A)使用转录学和肽组学的策略来鉴定神经肽，并探索激素周期在甲壳类动物不同神经调制反应中的作用；(B)细菌糖基化的特征；(C)蛋白质甲基化的研究；(D)对污染物环境降解的重要分子的转化的表征；以及(E)开发合成和表征低聚硫代胺的方法。该仪器结合了高分辨率的液相色谱系统和质谱仪的质量分析能力。液体色谱仪将混合物分离成它们的分子成分。然后，这些组分流入质谱仪，在那里测量它们的质量和碎片的质量。这种质谱仪具有特殊的设计，可以提供相对较高的质量精度、灵敏度和分辨率，从而可以检测和确定复杂混合物中的分子结构。该仪器不仅将用于研究，还将用于实验室课程，以培训大量学生使用这一重要的分析技术，并与贝茨学院、科尔比学院和沙漠山生物实验室等区域机构开展研究和外联活动。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Professor Elizabeth Stemmler from Bowdoin College and colleagues Patsy Dickinson, Dharni Vasudevan, Danielle Dube and Benjamin Gorske will acquire a liquid chromatograph-quadrupole, mass spectrometer with tandem capabilities and various accessories. The proposal will enhance research training and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) use of transcriptomics and peptidomics strategies to neuropeptide identification and to explore the role of hormonal cycles on differential neuromodulatory responses in crustaceans, (b) characterization of bacterial glycosylation, (c) studies of protein methylation, (d) characterization of transformations of molecules of importance to the environmental degradation of contaminants, and (e) development of methods to synthesize and characterize oligothioamides.Mass spectrometers (MS) are used to identify the chemical composition of a sample by measuring the mass of the molecular constituents in the sample after they are ionized and detected by the mass spectrometer. This instrument couples a high-resolution liquid chromatography system with the mass analysis ability of mass spectrometry. The liquid chromatograph separates mixtures into their molecular components. These components then flow into a mass spectrometer where their masses, and those of their fragments, are measured. This mass spectrometer has a special design that provides relatively high mass accuracy, sensitivity and resolution that allows detection and determination of the structure of molecules in a complex mixture. The instrumentation will be used not only for research but also in laboratory courses to train significant numbers of students in the use of this important analytical technique and for research and outreach activities with regional institutions such as Bates College, Colby College and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.