MRI: Acquisition of a gas chromatograph and isotope ratio mass spectrometer interface for compound-specific isotope analyses at the University of North Carolina Wilmington

MRI：在北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校购买气相色谱仪和同位素比质谱仪接口，用于化合物特异性同位素分析

• 批准号: 1427494
• 负责人: Chad Lane
• 金额: $ 11.02万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1427494&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; gas; chromatograph; isotope

Isotopic analysis of individual chemical compounds is a technique that is quickly proving to be one of the most groundbreaking advances in biogeochemical research. This award provides funding to early career researchers and tenured faculty at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Center for Marine Science (CMS) to acquire an instrument for compound-specific isotopic analyses. The instrumentation will contribute to the teaching and research missions of both UNCW and CMS. Research projects that will utilize the instrumentation include: reconstructing paleoclimate of the circum-Caribbean and southeastern U.S, sourcing of atmospheric pollution, improving identification and characterization of prehistoric agriculture and land use, understanding polar food webs, reconstructing prehistoric tsunamis, storms, and changes in relative sea level, and investigating geoarchaeology of late Pleistocene deposits in the Paleolithic of Portuguese Estremadura. The PIs will incorporate the new instrumentation into a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses at UNCW. For example, students in the stable isotope geochemistry course will analyze standard mixtures of organic compounds from hypothetical stratigraphic profiles to infer ecological and climate change through time, while students in advanced organic chemistry techniques courses will examine potential adulteration of olive oil samples, demonstrating real-world application of this technique. Acquisition of this instrumentation will also facilitate collaboration with nearby institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, and Western Carolina University.Specifically, this award provides for the acquisition of a gas chromatograph (GC), GC combustion interface, and flow controller to be interfaced with an existing Thermo Scientific DELTA V Plus mass spectrometer by researchers spanning four academic departments at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). These upgrades will allow for the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotopic analyses of a wide variety of individual chemical compounds. The requested instrument will expand the capabilities of the UNCW stable isotope laboratory (SIL) and researchers within this region, given there is currently no instrument of this kind accessible to researchers in the state. The UNCW SIL is a core research and training facility located in at CMS and is currently used by more than 30 students, postdocs, and faculty from a wide variety of disciplines including anthropology, biology, chemistry, ecology, geography, geology, and marine science. The requested instrumentation will expand the analytical capabilities of the SIL and facilitate novel approaches to the active and future research topics of the researchers' intra- and inter-institutional collaborators, and their students.

单个化合物的同位素分析是一项很快被证明是生物地球化学研究中最具突破性进展的技术之一。该奖项为北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿海洋科学中心(UNW)的早期职业研究人员和终身教员提供资金，以获得一种用于化合物特定同位素分析的仪器。该仪器将为联合国教科文组织和CMS的教学和研究任务做出贡献。将利用该仪器的研究项目包括：重建环加勒比海和美国东南部的古气候，大气污染的来源，改善史前农业和土地利用的识别和表征，了解极地食物网，重建史前海啸、风暴和相对海平面的变化，以及调查葡萄牙Estremadura旧石器时代晚更新世沉积的地质考古学。专业督导人员将把新的仪器纳入发展中心的多个研究生和本科课程。例如，稳定同位素地球化学课程的学生将从假设的地层剖面分析有机化合物的标准混合物，以推断随着时间的推移生态和气候变化，而高级有机化学技术课程的学生将研究橄榄油样品的潜在掺假，展示这项技术在现实世界中的应用。购买这种仪器还将促进与附近机构的合作，如北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校、东卡罗来纳大学、北卡罗来纳州立大学和西卡罗来纳大学。具体地说，该合同规定，北卡罗来纳大学四个学术部门的研究人员将购买一台气相色谱仪(GC)、GC燃烧接口和流动控制器，以便与现有的Thermo Science Delta V Plus质谱仪对接。这些升级将允许对各种单独的化合物进行碳、氮和氢同位素分析。鉴于目前该州的研究人员尚无此类仪器可用，因此所要求的仪器将扩大联合国粮食及农业组织稳定同位素实验室(稳定同位素实验室)和该区域研究人员的能力。该中心是一个核心的研究和培训设施，位于CMS，目前有来自人类学、生物学、化学、生态学、地理学、地质学和海洋科学等多个学科的30多名学生、博士后和教职员工使用。所要求的仪器将扩大SLI的分析能力，并促进对研究人员的机构内和机构间合作者及其学生积极和未来的研究主题采取新的方法。