New Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Fluorescence facilities for the UEA Schools of Chemistry and Pharmacy

为了有效地进行化学科学研究，需要使用非常广泛的分析技术。一些用于确定分子的结构，一些用于确定其性质（例如光吸收或发射，磁性，生物活性），另一些用于检测和定量环境，生物体或反应系统中的已知分子，有些可以同时用于这三者。这些技术的应用和能力各不相同，它们的速度和易用性也各不相同：用于结构测定的最强大的技术通常并不最适合监测快速反应。在这个提案中，我们将通过填补我们分析技术范围的两个空白来增加东英吉利大学化学科学的可行性范围。一种是GC-MS，它能让我们更好地监测反应的发生，告诉我们反应的产物、副产物和机制。我们目前的方法，核磁共振，是强大的，但较慢，不方便，更难解释-所需的样品制备可能会影响结果。GC-MS提供的结果将为新的和更好的催化剂和有用分子的合成过程提供信息：例如，从二氧化碳等废物中生产化学原料，或发现有潜力作为药物或新材料成分的新分子。另一种是荧光/磷光光谱，它是物理科学/生物科学领域许多项目的核心。当荧光团和荧光粉遇到其他分子时，它们的发光特性往往会发生变化——发光特性可能会增强，也可能会被关闭，其波长或持续时间可能会发生变化。由于这些变化通常是非常具体的，监测发射提供了一种很好的方法来检测环境，细胞或生物体中的生物标志物和其他分子-这可以有助于我们对生物学和生物化学的理解，并作为成像和其他诊断技术的基础。新仪器将通过实现长波激发（对组织穿透有用）和改进的时间分辨率来增加我们的能力，这些时间分辨率可用于研究支撑这些应用的基本物理过程（能量和电子转移）。它也将有助于研究我们制造的用于设备的新材料的发光特性，例如显示器或光通信。

To be effective, research in chemical sciences requires access to a very wide range of analytical techniques. Some are used to determine the structure of a molecule, some to determine its properties (for example light absorption or emission, magnetism, biological activity), others enable detection and quantification of known molecules in the environment, in organisms, or in reaction systems, and some can help with all three. As well as varying in their applications and power, these techniques also vary in their speed and ease of use: the most powerful techniques for structural determination are not usually the most appropriate for monitoring a fast reaction.In this proposal, we will increase the range of chemical science feasible at UEA by filling two gaps in our range of analytical techniques. One, GC-MS, will enable us to better monitor reactions as they happen, informing us about their products, by products and mechanisms. Our current method for doing this, NMR, is powerful, but slower, inconvenient, harder to interpret - and the sample preparation required can affect the results. Results provided by the GC-MS will feed through into new and better catalysts and synthetic procedures for useful molecules: for example producing chemical feedstocks from waste products like CO2, or discovering new molecules with potential to act as drugs or as components in new materials.The other, fluorescence/phosphorescence spectroscopy, is at the heart of many projects at the physical science/bioscience interface. Fluorophores and phosphors often change their light emission when they encounter other molecules - emission may be enhanced, switched off, its wavelength or time duration may change. As these changes are often very specific, monitoring emission provides an excellent means to detect biomarkers and other molecules in the environment, cells or organisms - this can contribute to our understanding of biology and biological chemistry and act as a basis for imaging and other diagnostic techniques. The new instrument will add to our capabilities by enabling long-wavelength excitation (useful for tissue penetration) and improved time resolution that can be used to study the fundamental physical processes (energy and electron transfer) underpinning these applications. It will also be useful for investigating the light emission properties of new materials we make for application in devices - such as displays, or optical telecommunications.