Fundamental and Mechanistic Studies of Negative Ion Electron Capture Dissociation (niECD)

化学测量和成像（CMI）计划的这一奖项支持密歇根大学Kristina Håkansson教授的工作，以探索负离子电子捕获解离（niECD）的机制并提高其分析实用性，这是PI实验室最近发现的一种新型串联质谱技术。 本研究的目的是进一步研究niECD的反直觉过程，该过程导致电荷增加，而不是其他离子-电子反应中典型的电荷减少物质。 进一步发展的niECD将允许访问的重要的低水平的酸性生物大分子，如磷酸和磺基肽，完整的酸性蛋白质，和RNA-小分子复合物的详细结构表征的新手段。 这项工作的教育目标包括在跨学科环境中培训研究生，以及参加密歇根大学妇女参与科学和工程方案提供的K-12暑期方案“科学和工程女孩”。 后一项活动旨在通过发现不打开盒子就能阐明盒子里的东西来提高年轻人对科学方法的兴趣。该研究的更广泛影响包括引进生物分子结构表征的新技术，对药物发现具有重要意义，并增强对活生物体分子基础的理解。

This award by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) program supports work by Professor Kristina Håkansson at the University of Michigan to explore the mechanism and improve the analytical utility of negative ion electron capture dissociation (niECD), a novel tandem mass spectrometry technique recently discovered in the PI's laboratory. The goal of this research is to further examine the counter-intuitive process of niECD, which results in charge-increased rather than the typical charge-decreased species in other ion-electron reactions. Further development of niECD will allow access to novel means for detailed structural characterization of important low-level acidic biomacromolecules such as phospho- and sulfopeptides, intact acidic proteins, and RNA-small molecule complexes. The educational goals of this work include training of graduate students in an interdisciplinary environment as well as participation in a K-12 Summer Program "Girls in Science and Engineering" offered by the University of Michigan's Women in Science and Engineering Program. The latter activities are aimed at boosting an interest in the scientific method at a young age through the discovery that the contents of a box can be elucidated without opening it. The broader impact of the research includes introduction of novel technology for biomolecular structural characterization with important implications for drug discovery and an enhanced understanding of the molecular basis of living organisms.