MRI: Acquisition of a MALDI‐ToF Mass Spectrometer to Advance Research and Education in Polymer Science and Engineering

在改善医疗保健、减少排放、节省燃料和保护美国安全等挑战的现代解决方案中，由人造分子组成的材料是不可或缺的。由许多小分子结合而成的大分子组成的人造材料是这个项目的重点。这样的分子被称为聚合物。确定人造聚合物的分子组成、大小和纯度需要特殊的分析工具。一个关键的工具是质谱法，它通过精确和准确地测定分子质量来获得有关分子性质的信息。拟议的设备是矩阵辅助激光解吸/电离（MALDI）飞行时间质谱仪，由主要研究仪器（MRI）奖提供支持，将实现这项任务，从而促进新材料的发现和制备，这些材料具有所需应用所需的性能微调。获得的仪器将具备阿克伦大学的科学家和工程师以及合作的学术和工业研究人员所需的能力，以了解如何从可回收、可降解和可再生资源中制造新的聚合物。它还将允许以新方式连接的聚合物分子的发展，以及对位于材料表面的分子的观察。阿克伦大学已经成为全国聚合物质谱中心。新的仪器将帮助这一国家资源继续提供一种分析方法，这种分析方法对人造聚合物的发现和创新的重要性正在迅速增长。该仪器将提供给来自俄亥俄州和全国的工业研究人员以及大学教师，帮助同行科学家解决重要的社会需求。它还将整合到教育活动中，包括为研究生和本科生提供的仪器分析课程和研究课程，以及能够招募和培训多样化劳动力的项目，包括NSF的本科生研究经验项目、麦克奈尔学者项目和美国化学学会为贫困学生提供的夏季研究经验。技术概述提出的质谱仪将使研究人员能够在分子水平上解决具有挑战性的分析问题，这是创造具有特定应用所需性能的新材料的先决条件。现代质谱（MS）设备在材料设计和合成的跨学科企业中是必不可少的。新一代材料合成方法的发展及其分子结构-性质关系的阐明，既推动了新的质谱方法的发展，也使其受益，这些方法产生了当前仪器和测量无法获得的新结构信息。该仪器将用于开发新的表征工具和分析，以回答合成材料的合成和性能评估中的核心问题，包括（生物）可降解聚合物、自组装大分子、可回收复合材料、仿生材料和功能化表面。更高分辨率的MALDI-MS与串联质谱相结合，将有可能确定新化合物或混合物的分子组成、初级结构、结构和分子量范围。通过无溶剂MALDI技术的先进发展，将获得对表面的新见解。更高分辨率、更高速度的成像能力将把方法的进步扩展到聚合物薄膜和生物材料表面的二维映射，帮助阐明表面修饰、粘附、药物传递和分离过程。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY Materials composed of manmade molecules are indispensable in modern solutions to challenges in improving healthcare, reducing emissions, saving fuel, and protecting the security of the United States. Manmade materials consisting of large molecules formed by combining many small molecules together are the focus of this project. Such molecules are called polymers. Determining the molecular make-up, size, and purity of manmade polymers requires special analytical tools. A key tool is mass spectrometry, which gains information about molecular properties by precisely and accurately determining molecular masses. The proposed equipment, a Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometer, supported by a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award, will enable this task, thus facilitating the discovery and preparation of new materials with properties fine-tuned for the desired applications. The instrument acquired will have the capabilities needed by scientists and engineers at the University of Akron and collaborating academic and industrial researchers to understand how new polymers can be made that are recyclable, degradable, and from renewable sources. It will also allow for the development of polymer molecules that are connected in new ways and for the observation of the molecules located on the surface of a material. The University of Akron has established itself as a national hub of polymer mass spectrometry. The new instrumentation will help this national resource to continue to provide access to an analytical method growing rapidly in its importance for discovery and innovation with manmade polymers. The instrument will be available to industrial researchers as well as college faculty from Ohio and nationwide, helping fellow scientists to address important societal needs. It will also be integrated into educational activities, including instrumental analysis courses and research courses for graduate and undergraduate students, and programs enabling the recruitment and training of a diverse workforce, including NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates program, the McNair Scholars program, and the American Chemistry Society's summer research experiences for underprivileged students.TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe proposed mass spectrometer will allow researchers to solve challenging analytical problems at the molecular level, which is a prerequisite for the creation of new materials with the properties required for specific applications. Modern mass spectrometry (MS) facilities are essential in the interdisciplinary enterprise of materials design and synthesis. The development of synthetic methods for next generation materials and the elucidation of their molecular structure-properties relationships both drives and benefits from development of new MS methods that yield new structural information unattainable with current instrumentation and measurements. The proposed instrument will be used in the development of new characterization tools and in analyses that answer central questions in the synthesis and evaluation of properties of synthetic materials, including (bio)degradable polymers, self-assembled macromolecules, recyclable composites, biomimetic materials, and functionalized surfaces. Higher resolution MALDI-MS, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry will make possible conclusive determination of molecular composition, primary structure, architecture, and molecular weight range of new compounds or blends. New insights into surfaces will be gained by advanced development of solventless MALDI techniques. Higher resolution, higher speed imaging capabilities will extend method advancements to 2D mapping of polymer films and biomaterial surfaces, aiding elucidation of surface modification, adhesion, drug delivery, and segregation processes.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.