RUI: An HPLC-MS for Conducting Studies of Responses to Environmental Stresses in Marine Organisms

该合同支持为西华盛顿大学香农点海洋中心(SPMC)购买高性能高效液相色谱-质谱仪(HPLC-MS)。由于该中心的地理位置，SPMC的科学家一直积极参与当地海洋动植物的研究，并对学生进行海洋研究方面的培训。近年来，该中心的教师研究更多地集中在海洋生物的生理和生物化学上。其中许多研究涉及测量生物体对不断变化的环境条件的生理和生化反应。高效液相色谱法的使用是这类研究的重要工具，因为它允许研究人员识别、分离和测量单个代谢物，因为它们的量随着各种环境条件的变化而变化。可在SMPC进行的研究范围因整个华盛顿西部园区缺乏适当的质谱学能力而受到限制。高效液相色谱和质谱学的结合使研究人员能够确认已知化合物的鉴定，并帮助确定新发现的天然产物的结构。将购买的仪器具有分析和准备规模的能力，将设在中心的一个新的通用分析实验室，中心的研究人员和贝灵汉主校区的研究人员也可以在那里使用。香农点在支持研究生和本科生的研究和教育项目方面有着良好的记录。该仪器将提供给所有级别的学生，包括参加NSF支持的两项培训活动的本科生：海洋科学本科生计划(MIMSUP)和本科生研究经验(REU)现场计划。

This award provides support for purchase of a high performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) for the Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC) of Western Washington University. Because of the Center's location, SPMC scientists have been actively involved in research on the local marine flora and fauna and in training students in marine research. In recent years, faculty research at the Center has become more focused on the physiology and biochemistry of marine organisms. Many of these studies involve the measurement of physiological and biochemical responses of organisms to changing environmental conditions. The use of HPLC is an important tool for such research because it allows researchers to identify, separate, and measure individual metabolites as their amounts change in response to a variety of environmental conditions. The scope of the studies that can be conducted at SMPC has been limited by a lack of appropriate mass spectroscopy capabilities throughout the entire Western Washington campus. The combination of HPLC and MS allows researchers to confirm identifications of known compounds and aid structural determination of newly discovered natural products. The instrument to be purchased, which has both analytical and preparative-scale capabilities, will be located in a new common-use analytical laboratory at the Center where it can be accessed by researchers at the Center and those from the main campus in Bellingham as well. Shannon Point has a strong record in supporting graduate and undergraduate research and education programs. The instrument will be available to students at all levels, including undergraduates participating in two NSF-supported training activities: the Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program (MIMSUP) and the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site program.