MRI: Acquisition of an LC/MS/MS to Enhance Undergraduate Research and Teaching

梅丽莎·M·舒尔茨及其同事伍斯特学院的保罗·埃德米斯顿和马克·斯奈德获得了重大研究仪器项目(MRI)颁发的这一奖项，他们将获得一台液体色谱仪/三重四极杆质谱仪(LC/MS/MS)。该仪器将用于(1)定量测定环境中的含氟化合物和抗抑郁药物等污染物，(2)检测非保守氨基酸及其在分子进化中的作用，(3)测量非催化反应的速率，特别是肌酸的水解，以确定肌酸酶和其他酶的催化熟练程度，(4)从结构上阐明合成发光聚合物、其合成前体和单体模型体系的超分子络合物，(5)研究DNA甲基化在神经退行性疾病中的作用。联合PIS还将利用该工具作为伍斯特学院内外的教育和外联的工具。质谱仪(MS)是一种用于探测大量有机、生物有机和有机金属分子的内部结构细节和获得其分子组成的技术。它是发展最快、使用最广泛的分析仪器技术之一。正因为如此，让本科生接触这项技术是很重要的。此外，这项研究有望对环境产生积极影响。大致来说，串联质谱计可以被认为是两个串联的质谱计，由一个腔室连接，可以将化学物质分解成碎片。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), Melissa M. Schultz and colleagues Paul Edmiston and Mark Snider from the College of Wooster will acquire a liquid chromatograph/triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (LC/MS/MS). The instrument will be used to (1) quantitatively determine contaminants such as fluorochemicals and antidepressant pharmaceuticals in environmental, (2) examine the non-conserved amino acids and their role in molecular evolution, (3) measure rates of uncatalyzed reactions, specifically the hydrolysis of creatine to determine the catalytic proficiency of creatinase and other enzymes, (4) structurally elucidate synthesized light-emitting polymers, their synthetic precursors, and supramolecular complexes of monomeric model system, (5) address the role of DNA methylation in neurodegenerative diseases. The co-PIs will also use the instrumentation as a tool for education and outreach both within and beyond the College of Wooster. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique used to probe intimate structural details and to obtain the molecular compositions of a vast array of organic, bioorganic, and organometallic molecules. It is one of the fastest growing and most widely used analytical instrumentation techniques. Because of this, it is important for undergraduate students to be exposed to the technique. In addition, this research is expected to have a positive effect on the environment. To a first approximation a tandem mass spectrometer can be thought of as two mass spectrometers in series connected by a chamber that can break a chemical species into pieces.