Acquisition of a Mass Spectrometer for a Capillary High Performance Liquid Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (LC/MS)

美国美术馆的Richard Newman博士和他的同事Richard Laursen(波士顿大学)将获得这项来自主要研究仪器(MRI)计划的奖项，他们将获得一台与离子陷阱-质谱仪接口的毛细管液相色谱(LC)。该奖项将加强各级的研究培训和教育，特别是在文化文物(包括纺织品、画架和壁画以及多色雕塑)中使用的天然和合成染料的分析等领域。该项目的目标是深入了解在原始(植物)来源材料中发现的化合物；将这些化合物与使用各种提取和染色程序与天然材料染色或着色的测试样品中实际存在的化合物进行比较；以及提供信息，以识别原始染料成分可能发生重大变化的劣化人工制品上的染料。质谱仪(MS)用于通过测量电离和检测后样品中分子成分的质量来确定样品的化学组成。该仪器将毛细管液相色谱系统与质量分析能力相结合。液相色谱仪将从艺术品中提取的微量化合物混合物分离成其分子成分。然后这些组分流入质谱仪，在那里它们被电离并确定它们的质量。这种仪器不仅将用于有助于保护艺术品的研究，还将用于附近西蒙斯学院的实验室课程。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, Dr. Richard Newman from the Museum of Fine Arts and colleague Richard Laursen (Boston University) will acquire a capillary liquid chromatograph (LC) interfaced with an ion trap-mass spectrometer. The award will enhance research training and education at all levels, especially in areas such as analyses of natural and synthetic dyestuffs used in cultural artifacts (including textiles, easel and wall paintings, and polychromed sculpture). The objectives of this project are to gain insights into the compounds that are found in the raw (plant) source material; to enable comparisons between these compounds and those actually present on test samples that have been dyed or colored with the natural materials using a variety of extraction and dyeing procedures; as well as to provide information to identify the dyestuffs on deteriorated artifacts in which original dye components may have been significantly altered.Mass spectrometers (MS) are used to identify the chemical composition of a sample by measuring the mass of the molecular constituents in the sample after they are ionized and detected. This instrument couples a capillary liquid chromatography system with the mass analysis ability. The liquid chromatograph separates minute volumes of mixtures of compounds extracted from the art pieces into its molecular components. These components then flow into a mass spectrometer where they are ionized and their masses determined. The instrumentation will be used not only for research that will help preserve art but also in laboratory courses at nearby Simmons College.