MRI: Acquisition of a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) for research in the marine, earth and environmental sciences

这项由美国国家科学基金会(NSF)重大研究仪器项目颁发的奖项支持购买一台电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICPMS)和一台激光烧蚀(LA)样品导入系统，用于海洋、地球和环境科学中研究的各种自然材料的元素和同位素分析。NSF的这项投资将支持东北大学不同学科(海洋科学、环境科学、全球变化、地质学、化学、生物学、骨学、公共卫生、工程学)以及其他地区机构的研究人员。收购东北的LA-ICP-MS将加强的具体研究项目包括：从珊瑚岩心重建过去的海水温度和酸度；对需要对其贝壳或骨骼进行化学标记的海洋生物进行实验；调查碳酸盐矿物中的金属含量；利用鱼类耳骨(“耳石”)的化学指纹调查鱼类种群结构和连通性；以及许多其他项目，调查海洋生态系统、贝壳和骨骼生产、材料合成、药物发现和环境毒素。初级、中级和高级教师及其博士后同事、研究生和本科生以及技术人员使用仪器，将为在一系列科学学科中具有不同专业水平的用户提供重要的教育和仪器培训机会。收购LA-ICP-MS将对几位年轻教员的职业发展特别有价值，他们正在开发新的研究项目，并准备充分利用LA-ICP-MS提供的质量分辨率、灵敏度和底物多样性。东北大学的教职员工在让学生参与所有水平的科学研究方面建立了良好的记录，这种对学生参与的重视将与该仪器的管理和操作完全结合起来。通过该奖项获得的LA-ICP-MS系统结合了关键的技术能力，将促进东北大学和其他地方的分析研究。这些能力包括(1)高精密度和准确度；(2)宽质量范围(6个原子质量260，70个元素)；(3)多用途底物(液体和固体)，包括通过5微米空间分辨率的激光烧蚀原位测量固体底物；(4)超低检测下限(ppq至ppm)；以及(5)由于系统的高灵敏度、快速调整磁场强度和最低的样品制备要求，能够快速、同时分析多个同位素(20个)。LA-ICP-MS的分析多功能性是东北大学多个早期、中级和高级研究人员的广泛研究项目所必需的。这些项目包括调查碳酸盐矿物学的时间趋势、开发多元素古温度计和基于B/Ca的古pH指标以根据珊瑚骨骼地球化学恢复近期的海洋变化、在海洋酸化实验中对碳酸盐贝壳和骨骼进行同位素标记、调查合成碳酸盐和生物成因碳酸盐中的微量元素分配、建立鱼类耳石的元素指纹图谱以调查种群结构和连通性，以及在海洋生态学、生物矿化、骨骼病理学、材料合成、纳米工程、药物发现和毒理学领域开展的众多其他项目。这些项目处于各自领域的前沿，但它们的最终成功，特别是对职业生涯早期的科学家来说，取决于是否能够随时获得拟议的仪器。虽然没有一台质谱仪完全适合上述所有研究活动，但LA-ICPMS是最适合这些应用的一种仪器系统。

This award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation program supports acquisition of an inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and a laser ablation (LA) sample introduction system to be used for the elemental and isotopic analysis of a broad range of natural materials investigated in the marine, earth and environmental sciences. This investment by the NSF will support researchers working within various disciplines at Northeastern University (marine science, environmental science, global change, geology, chemistry, biology, osteology, public health, engineering), as well as at other regional institutions. Specific research projects that will be enhanced by acquisition of LA-ICP-MS at Northeastern include the reconstruction of past seawater temperature and acidity from coral cores, experiments on marine organisms that require chemical labelling of their shell or skeleton, research investigating metal incorporation in carbonate minerals, investigations of fish population structure and connectivity using chemical fingerprinting of the ear-bones ("otoliths") of fish, and numerous other projects investigating marine ecosystems, shell and skeletal production, materials synthesis, drug discovery, and environmental toxins. Instrument use by junior, mid-level, and senior faculty, and their postdoctoral associates, graduate and undergraduate students, and technical staff, will provide critical educational and instrument training opportunities for users with varying levels of expertise across a range of scientific disciplines. Acquisition of LA-ICP-MS will be particularly valuable for the career development of several young faculty who are developing novel research projects and are poised to take full advantage of the mass resolution, sensitivity, and substrate versatility afforded by LA-ICP-MS. Faculty and staff at Northeastern have established an excellent record of involving students at all levels of scientific research, and this emphasis on student involvement will be fully integrated with the management and operation of this instrumentation.The LA-ICP-MS system to be acquired through this award combines key technological capabilities that will facilitate analytical research at Northeastern and beyond. These capabilities include (1) high precision and accuracy; (2) broad mass range (6 atomic mass 260, 70 elements); (3) substrate versatility (liquids and solids), including in-situ measurement of solid substrates via laser ablation at 5 micron spatial resolution; (4) ultra-low detection limits (ppq-to-ppm); and (5) rapid, simultaneous analysis of multiple isotopes ( 20) afforded by the system's high sensitivity, rapid adjustment of magnetic field strength, and minimal sample preparation requirements. The analytical versatility of LA-ICP-MS is required for the broad range of research projects of multiple early career, mid-level, and senior researchers at Northeastern. These projects include investigating temporal trends in carbonate mineralogy, developing a multielemental paleothermometer and B/Ca-based paleo-pH proxy to reconstruct recent oceanic change from coral skeletal geochemistry, isotopic labeling of carbonate shells and skeletons in ocean acidification experiments, investigating trace element partitioning in synthetic and biogenic carbonates, elemental fingerprinting of fish otoliths to investigate population structure and connectivity, and numerous other projects in the fields of marine ecology, biomineralization, bone pathology, materials synthesis, nano-engineering, drug discovery, and toxicology. These projects are at the forefront of their respective fields, yet their ultimate success, especially for the early career scientists, hinges on ready access to the proposed instrumentation. Although no single mass spectrometer is perfectly suited for all of the described research activities, LA-ICP-MS is the one instrument system that is most readily adaptable to each of these applications.