DNA Sequencing by Aerosol Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometry

该学院早期职业发展(CAEREAR)项目得到分析和表面化学计划的支持，旨在利用气溶胶液体样品引入和基质辅助激光解吸/电离(MALDI)飞行时间MS相结合的方式开发质谱学(MS)作为DNA测序工具。在这项为期四年的持续资助期间，默里教授和他在埃默里大学的学生将利用这种方法的优势，包括不需要对DNA进行放射性同位素、荧光或生色团标记，或样品制备。这使得自动化变得很容易，并且可以使用飞行时间MS快速分离单个带电碎片。建议的技术可以避免气雾剂MALDI中固有的问题，包括分析物碎裂、检测限差和质量分辨率不足。默里教授的教育计划包括修改埃默里大学的本科生仪器分析课程。计划在本课程中引入MALDI MS。在更广泛的范围内，由于教师和学生人数的快速增长，埃默里大学化学专业的整个本科课程正在进行修订和重组。计划开设生物化学跨学科课程，并增加本科生从事研究的机会。默里教授已经开始了一门研究生科学仪器课程，这门课程将扩大到在这门课程中更积极地使用万维网资源。他还负责埃默里大学的研讨会项目和分析累积考试项目，这些工具将被用来促进研究生的研究兴趣。DNA测序领域在许多科学领域特别活跃，原因有很多。默里教授的目标是通过这个职业研究项目开发一种更好的DNA测序技术，这将使埃默里大学的学生接触到一个正在迅速发展并具有巨大影响的研究前沿。这门科学在正常的教育和研究场所之间的整合是令人兴奋的，这项工作的进展将是有趣的。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project, supported in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, seeks to develop mass spectrometry (MS) as a DNA sequencing tool using a combination of aerosol liquid sample introduction and matrix- assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight MS. During the tenure of this four-year continuing grant, Professor Murray and his students at Emory University will exploit the advantages of this approach including no need for radioisotopes, fluorescence or chromophore tagging of DNA, or sample preparation. This makes it easy to automate and single charged fragments can be rapidly separated using the time-of-flight MS. Problems inherent in aerosol MALDI to be obviated by the proposed techniques include analyte fragmentation, poor limits of detection and inadequate mass resolution. Professor Murray's educational plan involves revamping the undergraduate instrumental analysis course at Emory University. Introduction of a MALDI MS into this course is planned. On a broader scale the entire undergraduate curriculum in chemistry at Emory University is undergoing revision and reorganization due to the rapid growth in faculty and in student enrollment. Cross disciplinary courses in biochemistry and enhanced opportunities to have undergraduates engaged in research are planned. Professor Murray has already started a graduate scientific instrumentation course that will be expanded to involve more active use of the World Wide Web resources in this course. He is also in charge of the seminar program and the analytical cumulative exam program at Emory University and these vehicles will be used to promote research interest among the graduate students. The field of DNA sequencing is especially active in many areas of science for a host of reasons. Professor Murray's goal to develop a better technique for DNA sequencing via this CAREER research project will expose students at Emory University to a research frontier that is moving quickly and that has the potential for enormous impact. The integration of this science between the normal educational and research venues is exciting and the progress of this work will be interesting to follow.