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

非技术摘要由人造分子组成的材料对于解决改善医疗保健、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是不可或缺的。由许多小分子结合在一起形成的大分子组成的人造材料是该项目的重点。这样的分子称为聚合物。确定人造聚合物的分子组成、尺寸和纯度需要特殊的分析工具。一个关键工具是质谱法，它通过精确测定分子质量来获取有关分子特性的信息。拟议的设备，即基质辅助激光解吸/电离（MALDI）飞行时间质谱仪，得到了重大研究仪器（MRI）奖项的支持，将能够完成这项任务，从而促进新材料的发现和制备，这些新材料的性能针对所需的应用进行了微调。所收购的仪器将具备阿克伦大学的科学家和工程师以及学术和工业研究人员合作所需的功能，以了解如何利用可再生资源制造可回收、可降解的新聚合物。它还将允许开发以新方式连接的聚合物分子，并观察位于材料表面的分子。阿克伦大学已成为国家聚合物质谱中心。新仪器将帮助这一国家资源继续提供一种分析方法，该方法对于人造聚合物的发现和创新的重要性正在迅速增长。该仪器将提供给俄亥俄州和全国范围内的工业研究人员以及大学教师，帮助科学家同行解决重要的社会需求。它还将被纳入教育活动中，包括针对研究生和本科生的仪器分析课程和研究课程，以及能够招募和培训多元化劳动力的计划，包括美国国家科学基金会的本科生研究经验计划、麦克奈尔学者计划和美国化学会为贫困学生提供的夏季研究经验。技术概要拟议的质谱仪将允许研究人员在分子水平上解决具有挑战性的分析问题，这是创建具有特定应用所需特性的新材料的先决条件。现代质谱 (MS) 设施对于材料设计和合成的跨学科企业至关重要。下一代材料的合成方法的开发以及其分子结构-性质关系的阐明既推动了新的质谱方法的开发，也受益于新的质谱方法的开发，这些方法产生了当前仪器和测量无法获得的新结构信息。拟议的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 与串联质谱联用将能够最终确定新化合物或混合物的分子组成、一级结构、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、更高速的成像能力将把方法进步扩展到聚合物薄膜和生物材料表面的二维绘图，帮助阐明表面改性、粘附、药物输送和分离过程。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.