MRI: Acquisition of a MALDI-TOF/TOF Mass Spectrometer for Molecular Structure Determination and Imaging

明尼苏达双城大学的Michael Bowser教授和他的同事Joseph Dalluge将获得由化学研究仪器和设施计划(CRIF)共同资助的化学专业研究仪器计划颁发的这一奖项，他们将获得具有分子成像能力的基质辅助激光解吸电离串联飞行时间质谱仪(MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS)。该建议旨在加强各级的研究和教育，特别是在以下领域：(A)对开发下一代聚合物材料至关重要的合成多嵌段共聚物的表征；(B)超越经典组织学和免疫组织化学，对工程组织进行表征并评估新一代工程药物递送剂的有效性；(C)鉴定吸附在为临床和环境监测设计的工程化学传感器上的生物粘附剂；(D)确定亚细胞特异性自噬标记的空间异质性；(E)生物活性蛋白质和核酸的结构表征；以及(F)评估高速、高峰容量、2D微流控分离，以提高系统生物学研究的能力和效率。质谱仪(MS)是用于识别和表征嵌入复杂基质中的少量化学物种的关键分析方法之一。在一个典型的实验中，这些组分流入质谱仪，在那里它们被电离成母离子，并测量它的碎片离子及其质量。这种高度灵敏的技术可以检测和确定复杂混合物中的分子结构。具有串联能力的仪器通过进一步碎裂光谱仪中产生的离子来提供额外的结构识别能力。该奖项提供的仪器将为几个系的教职员工和学生提供利用该机构迄今尚未提供的现代仪器进行研究项目的机会。此外，收购建议中的仪器将有助于与阿诺卡-拉姆齐社区学院(ARCC)合作，为ARCC的本科生有机化学学生(其中50%是有色人种学生、女性或残疾学生)提供获得这项技术实践经验的机会，改善连接两年制和四年制学院和大学的管道。

With this award from the Chemistry Major Research Instrumentation Program that is co-funded by the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program, Professor Michael Bowser from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and colleague Joseph Dalluge will acquire a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) with molecular imaging capability. The proposal is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) characterization of synthetic multiblock copolymers essential to the development of next-generation polymeric materials; (b) moving beyond classical histology and immunohistochemistry to characterize engineered tissues and assess the efficacy of a new generation of engineered drug delivery agents; (c) identification of biofoulants adsorbed to engineered chemical sensors designed for clinical and environmental monitoring; d) determination of spatial heterogeneity of subcellular-specific autophagy markers; (e) structural characterization of bioactive proteins and nucleic acids; and (f) assessing high-speed, high peak capacity, 2D microfluidic separations to improve capabilities and efficiency in systems biology research.Mass Spectrometry (MS) is one of the key analytical methods used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species embedded in complex matrices. In a typical experiment, the components flow into a mass spectrometer where they are ionized into the parent ion and its fragment ions and their masses are measured. This highly sensitive technique allows detection and determination of the structure of molecules in a complex mixture. An instrument with tandem capability provides additional structural identification power through further fragmentation of ions produced in the spectrometer. The instrumentation provided by this award will provide faculty and students in several departments the opportunity to pursue research projects using modern instrumentation not heretofore available at the institution. In addition, acquisition of the proposed instrument will enable collaboration with Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) to provide undergraduate organic chemistry students at ARCC (50% of whom are students of color, women, or students with disabilities) the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with this technology, improving the pipeline that connects 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities.