A Swiss army knife for aerosol composition - a community Chemical Ionisation Mass Spectrometry facility

资本资产是下一代社区测量大气成分的能力，可用于解决NERC研究和创新主题范围内的关键科学和政策相关问题。分子化合物识别是理解许多环境过程的核心。高性能质谱学的发展很快，但由于采集样品的时间分辨率较差，离线方法无法捕捉动态过程。当前的许多环境挑战需要高时间分辨率的快速分子检测和鉴定，以了解高度动态的过程。最近的进展使这一点成为可能。前几代仪器使用起来既昂贵又复杂，因此只有少数拥有支持它们的技术能力和基础设施的群体才能使用它们。此外，电离方案通常被设计用于检测某些类型的化合物，并且可能需要多个仪器。这是昂贵的，超出了许多研究小组的能力。我们建议在单个仪器中提供一种在颗粒和气相中以高灵敏度和高特异度快速检测和识别各种分子的设施，可应用于各种紧迫的社会需求的大气和环境问题。资产包括一个化学电离质谱仪，具有一套新颖的可互换进气口，能够将颗粒和气体中的分子采样到单个高分辨率仪器中，同时运行多个电离源(通常不需要放射源)。将与以调查员为代表的广大用户共同设计一个定制的数据收集和分析软件套件，为目标应用程序的一系列标准操作程序提供服务，使资产能够交钥匙运营。这种易用性是将资产作为社区资源提供的关键。它将使合作机构能够在没有当前一代仪器操作资源的情况下进行部署，从而获得更广泛的用户基础，将为其开发使用模型(包括更先进的操作和交付的模型)。通过提供用于痕量颗粒和气体表征的多用途、集成和易于使用的设施，我们将能够迅速应对与过渡到净零相关的挑战，深入了解面对快速变化的气候、相关的生态系统反应和人类活动产生的一系列压力所面临的大气挑战。该资产将提供的环境应用包括：室内和室外空气质量对健康的影响：i)空气污染源的毒理学危害等级，ii)与室内和室外污染物不同暴露有关的健康不平等大气化学变化：i)初级和次级气溶胶老化，ii)次级有机和无机气溶胶和前体的形成和转化，iii)新型微量气体化学的影响地表-大气交换：i)陆地生物和人为PM和气体排放源(例如氨、POA)的量化，ii)海洋大气过程的量化植物挥发性有机化合物的产生：i)在调节多营养相互作用和植物竞争中的作用，Ii)促进作物或邻近的“屏障”植物产生防御性的VOC地下VOC调节：i)根际相互作用的生态进化影响，ii)通过微生物活动和土壤中的有机物质分解控制VOC排放，iii)将废弃的二氧化碳转化为有用产品的新途径，作为标记。

The capital asset is a next-generation community capability to measure atmospheric composition that can be used to address critical science and policy-related problems across the NERC Research and Innovation theme remits. Molecular compound identification is central to understanding many environmental processes. Advances in high performance mass spectrometry have developed rapidly but offline methods cannot capture dynamic processes owing to poor time resolution of the collected sample. Many current environmental challenges require rapid molecular detection and identification at high time resolution to understand highly dynamic processes. Recent advances now make this possible. Previous generations of instrument are expensive and complex to use, so they are only accessible to a few groups with the technological capability and infrastructure to support them. Further, ionisation schemes are often designed for detection of certain types of compounds and multiple instruments may be needed. This is costly and beyond the capabilities of many research groups. We propose a facility to deliver rapid detection and identification of a wide range of molecules with high sensitivity and specificity in both particle and gas phases in a single instrument and that can be applied to a wide range of atmospheric and environmental problems of pressing societal need.The asset comprises a chemical ionisation mass spectrometer with a novel suite of interchangeable inlets and able to sample molecules in particles and gases into a single high resolution instrument, simultaneously running multiple ionisation sources (none requiring a radioactive source, as is commonly the case). Co-designed with a broad user community represented by the investigators, a bespoke data collection and analysis software suite will be developed to service a range of standard operating procedures for target applications, enabling turnkey operation of the asset. This ease-of-use is key to the provision of the asset as a community resource. It will enable deployment at partner institutions without the resource for operation of the current generation of instruments and hence a much broader user base, for which a usage model will be developed (including a model for more advanced operation and delivery).By providing a multi-use integrated and easy to use facility for trace particle and gas characterisation, we will be able to rapidly rise to challenges associated with transition to Net Zero, to provide deep understanding of atmospheric challenges in the face of rapidly changing climate, the associated ecosystem responses, and a range of pressures arising from human activities. Environmental applications that the asset will make accessible include:Impacts of indoor and outdoor air quality on health: i) toxicological hazard ranking of air pollution sources, ii) health inequalities associated with differential exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutionAtmospheric chemical transformations: i) primary and secondary aerosol ageing, ii) formation and transformation of secondary organic and inorganic aerosols and precursors, iii) impacts of novel trace gas chemistrySurface - atmosphere exchange: i) quantification of terrestrial biogenic and anthropogenic PM and gas emission sources (e.g. ammonia, POA), ii) quantification of marine atmospheric processesPlant VOC production: i) roles in regulating multitrophic interaction and plant competition, ii) promoting defensive VOC production by crop plants or neighbouring 'barrier' plantsSubsurface VOC modulation: i) eco-evolutionary implications of interactions in the rhizosphere, ii) VOC emission control by microbial activity and organic matter decomposition in soil, iii) novel pathways to convert waste CO2 to useful products tracked by VOCs as markers..NERC and UKRI have made considerable investment in each area through the funding portfolio of our investigator team of leading researchers and across all NERC R&I themes.