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

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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.