MRI: Acquisition of a Normal Phase Single Quadrupole High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (HPLC-MS) for Innovative Paleoclimate and Paleoenvironmental Research

获得一台高效液相色谱-质谱联用仪（HPLC-MS）将支持由圣母大学的Melissa Berke教授及其同事Adrian Rocha和Jason McLachlan领导的环境研究和教育活动。高效液相色谱-质谱将配置为最先进的微生物膜脂分析，优化为最佳的再现性和分辨率，这是显着改变了古气候学和古生态学领域的创新。高效液相色谱-质谱法促进了快速、灵敏和更经济的化合物检测的发展，这些化合物使用早期的方法和仪器难以测量。该仪器的收购加强了该大学和中西部地区的研究基础设施，此外还促进了多学科合作。该工具将使来自不同背景的本科生和研究生能够在环境变化研究中使用这一分析工具和由此产生的代理，从而有助于扩大参与。这台新仪器将供圣母大学及其他学院的其他研究人员使用。该奖项支持在圣母大学获得用于测量微生物膜脂、甘油二烷基甘油四醚（GDGTs）的新型高效液相色谱-质谱仪（HPLC-MS）。Single Quad HPLC-MS将与溶剂洗脱液以正常相运行，具有大气压化学电离（APCI）源，可串联安装多个柱的恒温柱室，用于制备模式的馏分收集器和自动进样器。高效液相色谱-质谱的改进促进了高分子量和极性化合物快速、灵敏和更经济检测的发展。此外，微生物生态学和有机地球化学的最新进展扩大了我们对微生物脂质合成和空间分布的理解，特别是关于细菌和古细菌的膜脂，被称为GDGTs，这是地球上最普遍存在的脂质。总之，这些分析化学的创新和对微生物过程的理解导致了利用GDGT分布和丰度的代理开发，从而彻底改变了与变化的环境条件有关的研究，这对理解古气候学至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The acquisition of a high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) will support environmental research and educational activities led by Professor Melissa Berke and colleagues Adrian Rocha and Jason McLachlan at the University of Notre Dame. The HPLC-MS will be configured for state-of-the-art microbial membrane lipid analysis, optimized for the best reproducibility and resolution, innovations that have significantly changed the fields of paleoclimatology and paleoecology. HPLC-MS has propelled the growth of rapid, sensitive, and more economical detection of compounds that are harder to measure using earlier methods and instrumentation. The acquisition of this instrument strengthens the research infrastructure at the university and within the Midwest and in addition promotes multi-disciplinary collaborations. The instrument will help broaden participation by involving undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds who can use this analytical tool and resulting proxies in environmental change research. The new instrument will be available for use by other researchers at Notre Dame and beyond. The award supports the acquisition a new high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) for measurement of microbial membrane lipids, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) at the University of Notre Dame. The Single Quad HPLC-MS will run in normal phase with solvent eluents, have an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source, a thermostatted column compartment that can fit multiple columns in tandem, a fraction collector for preparative mode, and an autosampler. Improvements in HPLC-MS have propelled the growth of rapid, sensitive, and more economical detection of higher molecular weight and polar compounds. Further, recent advances in microbial ecology and organic geochemistry have expanded our understanding of microbial lipid synthesis and spatial distribution, particularly with respect to membrane lipids of Bacteria and Archaea, known as GDGTs, some of the most ubiquitous lipids on Earth. Together, these innovations in analytical chemistry and understanding of microbial processes have led to proxy development using GDGT distributions and abundances to revolutionize research pertaining to changing environmental conditions, critical to understanding paleoclimatology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.