MRI-R2: Acquisition of an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-TOF-MS) for Multidisciplinary Research and Training at Towson University

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。在主要研究和仪器(MRI)项目的这一奖项的帮助下，Towson大学的Steven Lev及其同事Ellen Hondrogiannis、Ryan Casey和Joel Snotgras将获得一台电感耦合等离子体飞行时间质谱仪(ICP-TOF-MS)，这将扩大城市环境生物地球化学实验室(UEBL)的研究能力。新仪器将与UEBL现有的激光消融(LA)系统相结合。利用该仪器开展的项目包括：评价褐头叉尾鱼的生活史，调查蚯蚓对公路上锌的吸收情况，确定前体对某些神经毒素的金属特征，以及确定黑胡椒香料的地理来源。电感耦合等离子体质谱仪是一种使用高能等离子体产生离子的质谱仪。产生的离子的质量由质谱仪测量，提供样品的元素分析。使用激光脉冲烧蚀样品，结合TOF的高速检测速度，使单个激光脉冲即可完成完整的痕量金属分析。该奖项提供的仪器将为本科生提供重要的研究经验，并为他们提供高质量的现代仪器使用指导。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). With this award from the Major Research and Instrumentation (MRI) program, Steven Lev and colleagues Ellen Hondrogiannis, Ryan Casey and Joel Snodgrass of Towson University will acquire an inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometer (ICP-TOF-MS), which will expand the research capabilities of the Urban Environmental Biogeochemistry Laboratory (UEBL). The new instrument will be coupled with an existing Laser Ablation (LA) system in the UEBL. Projects to be undertaken with this instrumentation include evaluation of the life history of brown bullhead catfish, investigation of the uptake of roadway zinc by earthworms, determination of the metal signatures of precursors to certain neurotoxins, and identification of the geographic origins of black pepper spices.An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer is a type of mass spectrometer that uses a high-energy plasma to generate ions. The masses of the ions produced are measured by the mass spectrometer providing an elemental analysis of the sample. The use of a laser pulse to ablate the sample combined with the high detection speed of TOF enables a complete trace metal analysis with a single laser pulse. The instrumentation provided by this award will allow undergraduate students significant research experiences and provide them with high-quality instruction on the use of modern instrumentation.