MRI: Acquisition of a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Instrument for Research and Teaching

这项NSF-MRI资助已授予新英格兰大学（缅因州比德福德）文理学院的一个跨学科研究团队，以购买最先进的气相色谱-质谱仪（GC-MS）。GC-MS是一种能够分离和分析混合物中挥发性和半挥发性化学成分的仪器，是广泛用于各种学科的重要分析工具。气相色谱仪通过施加高温使样品挥发，并通过增加柱温在柱中根据其分子量或极性分离单个化合物。 质谱仪组件电离分离的化合物，并使用质谱仪检测其质量，这有助于识别单个组分。该奖项资助的GC-MS将配备石英四极杆分析仪、三轴检测器以及电子碰撞和化学电离模式，以加强多学科研究和教学的分析仪器。GC-MS将用于教师和学生在基础科学部门（生物学，海洋科学，化学和物理学，心理学）在UNE的广泛的研究项目，包括：植物挥发物和激素的分析;藻类的次生代谢产物;在化学反应中的产品分布;光伏和其他材料的表征？绿色？纳米技术的应用;鱼类分泌的激素水平及其与行为的关系;河流沉积物中的有机物。 参与这些项目的教师广泛包括本科生在他们的研究活动中，因此学生将获得宝贵的实践经验与国家的最先进的分析技术，同时参与化学生态学，化学，动物行为和化学海洋学领域的前沿研究。由于UNE的学生主要由女性组成，其中许多人是第一代大学生，这个代表性不足的群体中的个人将接触到技术和仪器，这将使他们更有市场，更好地为未来的科学，工业和研究生课程的职业生涯做好准备。GC-MS还将用于化学和生物学的课堂教学活动，包括基于发现的学习，并作为推广计划的一部分，如新英格兰大学NSF资助的GK-12 SPARTACUS计划

This NSF-MRI grant has been awarded to an interdisciplinary team of researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New England (Biddeford, Maine) to purchase a state-of-the-art gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). A GC-MS is an instrument that allows for the separation and analysis of volatile and semi-volatile chemical components in mixtures and is an important analytical tool that is widely used in a variety of disciplines. The gas chromatograph volatilizes the sample by applying high temperatures and separates individual compounds in a column depending on their molecular weight or polarities by increasing the temperature of the column. The mass spectrometer component ionizes the separated compounds and detects their masses using the mass spectrometer, which facilities identification of the individual components. The GC-MS funded by this award will have a quartz quadrupole analyzer, a triple axis detector and both electron impact and chemical ionization modes to strengthen the analytical instrumentation for multidisciplinary research and teaching. The GC-MS will be used by faculty and students in the basic science departments (Biology, Marine Sciences, Chemistry and Physics, and Psychology) at UNE for a wide range of research projects, including: analysis of plant volatiles and hormones; secondary metabolites in algae; product distributions in chemical reactions; characterization of materials for photovoltaic and other ?green? nanotechnology applications; hormone levels excreted by fish and their correlation to behavior; and organic matter in river sediments. Faculty involved with these projects extensively include undergraduate students in their research activities, thus students will gain valuable hands-on experience with state-of-the-art analytical technology while participating in cutting-edge research in the fields of chemical ecology, chemistry, animal behavior and chemical oceanography. As the student body at UNE is comprised predominately of females, many of whom are first generation college students, individuals in this underrepresented group will gain exposure to techniques and instrumentation that will enable them to be more marketable and better prepared for future careers in science, industry and when applying to graduate programs. The GC-MS will also be used for classroom teaching activities in chemistry and biology, including discovery-based learning, and as part of outreach programs such as University of New England's NSF-funded GK-12 SPARTACUS program