CAREER: Leveraging flow modulation to transform volatile organic compound measurement

这个项目是由数学和物理科学局的化学部和建立的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助的。首席研究员是火奴鲁鲁查米诺大学的凯特琳·佩罗。她正在开发测量挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)的分析方法，VOCs是一类最常与气味分析有关的化学物质。一种允许两种独立分离方法的综合技术被用于分析挥发物的混合物。此外，还定义了统计程序，以验证在给定不同水平的样本复杂性的情况下，标记化合物的准确选择。这些方法可能会改善未来对VOCs在法医学、国防和其他自然科学应用中的研究。通过将这项研究与教学实践和社区推广相结合，Perrault博士致力于纠正夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民(NHPI)以及其他服务不足的少数民族在教育和职业方面的差距。该项目专注于利用具有全面二维气相色谱-质谱仪(GCxGC-MS)的反向填充/冲洗(RFF)流动调节器作为改进复杂样品中VOC表征的工具。复杂VOC基质的化学测量在分析上具有挑战性，因为它们由来自不同化学类别的大量化合物组成，浓度高度不同，且基质特异性较低。这项研究的具体目的包括开发利用调制改装将VOC方法从GC-MS仪器转换为GC-MS仪器的程序。研究小组还研究了GCxGC-MS在参考VOC收集上的化学计量学特征选择，并在具有较高样本间VOC变化的实际样品上演示了开发的方法。最后，该小组对非专家对多维色谱输出的解释进行了第一次跨学科研究，以改善与更广泛的受众和利益攸关方的数据交流。该程序为GCxGC-MS测定化学应用中的挥发性有机化合物谱提供了强有力的分析基础。这项工作的教育目标是实施职业发展计划，为进入科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)劳动力的学生促进职业准备和成长机会。这些计划包括本科研究经验、基于课程的研究经验、基于沟通的定量科目课程开发、积极学习策略的实施以及互动社区活动，以促进学生服务学习，同时增加夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民对化学的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project is jointly funded by the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The principal investigator is Katelynn Perrault of Chaminade University of Honolulu. She is developing analytical approaches for measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a class of chemicals most commonly associated with odor analysis. A comprehensive technique that permits two independent methods of separation is used to analyze mixtures of volatiles. In addition, statistical procedures are defined to verify the accurate selection of marker compounds given various levels of sample complexity. These approaches may improve future studies on VOCs in forensic science, defense, and other natural science applications. Through the integration of this research with teaching practices and community outreach, Dr. Perrault contributes to the redressing of educational and career access disparities for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) and other underserved minorities.The project focuses on leveraging a reverse fill/flush (RFF) flow modulator with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GCxGC-MS) as a tool for improving VOC characterization from complex samples. Chemical measurement of complex VOC matrices is analytically challenging because they are comprised of numerous compounds from different chemical classes, are highly varied in concentration, and have low matrix specificity. The specific aims of this study include the development of procedures for VOC method translation from a GC-MS instrument to a GCxGC-MS instrument using modulation retrofitting. The research team also investigates GCxGC-MS chemometric feature selections on a reference VOC collection with simulated challenges and demonstrates the developed approach on real samples exhibiting high inter-sample VOC variation. Finally, the team conducts the first interdisciplinary study on interpretation of multidimensional chromatographic output by non-specialists to improve communication of data to broader audiences and stakeholders. This program provides a strong analytical basis for the chemical measurement of VOC profiles using GCxGC-MS with RFF to be used in chemical applications. The educational objective of this work is to implement professional development programs that promote career readiness and growth opportunities for students entering the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. These programs include undergraduate research experiences, course-based research experiences, communication-based curriculum development in quantitative subjects, implementation of active learning strategies, and interactive community events to promote student service learning while increasing engagement of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in chemistry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.