MRI: Acquisition of a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Instrument for Research and Teaching

这项NSF-MRI拨款已授予新英格兰大学（缅因州比德福德）艺术与科学学院的一个跨学科研究团队，用于购买最先进的气相色谱-质谱计（GC-MS）。GC-MS是一种分离和分析混合物中挥发性和半挥发性化学成分的仪器，是一种重要的分析工具，广泛应用于各种学科。气相色谱仪通过施加高温来挥发样品，并通过增加柱的温度来根据它们的分子量或极性分离柱中的单个化合物。质谱仪组件电离分离的化合物，并使用质谱仪检测它们的质量，这有助于识别单个组件。由该奖项资助的气相色谱-质谱仪将配备石英四极杆分析仪、三轴探测器以及电子冲击和化学电离模式，以加强多学科研究和教学的分析仪器。气相色谱-质谱仪将被UNE基础科学系（生物、海洋科学、化学和物理以及心理学）的教师和学生用于广泛的研究项目，包括：植物挥发物和激素的分析；藻类的次生代谢物；化学反应中的产物分布；光伏和其他绿色材料的表征纳米技术应用;鱼类分泌的激素水平及其与行为的关系以及河流沉积物中的有机物。参与这些项目的学院广泛邀请本科生参与他们的研究活动，因此学生将在参与化学生态学、化学、动物行为和化学海洋学领域的前沿研究的同时，获得最先进的分析技术的宝贵实践经验。由于新英格兰大学的学生主要由女性组成，其中许多人是第一代大学生，这个代表性不足的群体中的个人将获得接触技术和仪器的机会，这将使他们更有市场，为未来在科学，工业和申请研究生课程的职业生涯做好更好的准备。GC-MS还将用于化学和生物学的课堂教学活动，包括基于发现的学习，以及作为新英格兰大学nsf资助的GK-12 SPARTACUS项目的一部分

This NSF-MRI grant has been awarded to an interdisciplinary team of researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New England (Biddeford, Maine) to purchase a state-of-the-art gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). A GC-MS is an instrument that allows for the separation and analysis of volatile and semi-volatile chemical components in mixtures and is an important analytical tool that is widely used in a variety of disciplines. The gas chromatograph volatilizes the sample by applying high temperatures and separates individual compounds in a column depending on their molecular weight or polarities by increasing the temperature of the column. The mass spectrometer component ionizes the separated compounds and detects their masses using the mass spectrometer, which facilities identification of the individual components. The GC-MS funded by this award will have a quartz quadrupole analyzer, a triple axis detector and both electron impact and chemical ionization modes to strengthen the analytical instrumentation for multidisciplinary research and teaching. The GC-MS will be used by faculty and students in the basic science departments (Biology, Marine Sciences, Chemistry and Physics, and Psychology) at UNE for a wide range of research projects, including: analysis of plant volatiles and hormones; secondary metabolites in algae; product distributions in chemical reactions; characterization of materials for photovoltaic and other ?green? nanotechnology applications; hormone levels excreted by fish and their correlation to behavior; and organic matter in river sediments. Faculty involved with these projects extensively include undergraduate students in their research activities, thus students will gain valuable hands-on experience with state-of-the-art analytical technology while participating in cutting-edge research in the fields of chemical ecology, chemistry, animal behavior and chemical oceanography. As the student body at UNE is comprised predominately of females, many of whom are first generation college students, individuals in this underrepresented group will gain exposure to techniques and instrumentation that will enable them to be more marketable and better prepared for future careers in science, industry and when applying to graduate programs. The GC-MS will also be used for classroom teaching activities in chemistry and biology, including discovery-based learning, and as part of outreach programs such as University of New England's NSF-funded GK-12 SPARTACUS program