Gas chromatograph

我们需要一台气相色谱仪（GC），这是一种用于测量样品提取物中有机化合物的复杂分析工具。我们建议使用该仪器来测量在海洋食物网、水产养殖和识别海洋生物（包括有毒生物）中至关重要的化合物。我们将使用我们正在开发的一种新的脂质分析程序来确定脂肪酸，包括必需的omega-3脂肪酸，甾醇，包括胆固醇和脂质类。这台仪器将取代我们16岁的NSERC资助的GC，已经无法修复。选择的模型及其配置将使我们能够扩展到两个新的重要研究领域：氨基酸和脂质氧化产物。人们越来越关注膳食脂质和氨基酸在海洋生态系统和水产养殖中的重要性，以及海洋脂质作为生物标志物的用途。海洋脂质包括几种在结构和功能上有相当大差异的脂质类别。结构上的差异允许它们用作生物标志物。在生物标志物方法中，某些特征化合物被用于整合生物、物理和化学参数，这些参数定义了生态系统的状态。使用这些化合物，我们可以量化必需营养素和有害化合物的输入，我们可以追踪它们的途径。GC将支持几个项目，其中我们的任务是确定对动物生长至关重要的脂质化合物和氨基酸，或可用作海洋环境中发生的过程的标志物。我们正在研究的一些非常重要的标记或特征化合物可以用作有害藻类大量繁殖的早期预警。我们还建议开发有毒脂质氧化产物的方法。此类化合物的结构通常相当复杂，含量非常低，因此需要使用先进的分析设备进行测定。纽芬兰食物网中的脂质，脂质氧化产物和氨基酸的测量是及时的地面渔业，新的渔业物种的兴趣，并在这方面的水产养殖水平不断提高的持续问题。这一工具将提供对加拿大水产养殖中有鳍鱼和双壳类亲鱼和幼体的营养管理至关重要的数据。

We are requesting a gas chromatograph (GC), which is a sophisticated analytical tool used to measure organic compounds in sample extracts. We propose to use this instrument to measure compounds that are critical in marine food webs, aquaculture, and in identifying marine organisms including those that are toxic. We will determine fatty acids including essential omega-3 fatty acids, sterols including cholesterol, and lipid classes using a novel lipid profiling procedure we are developing. This instrument will replace our 16 year old NSERC-funded GC that has broken down beyond repair. The model chosen and its configuration will be such as to allow us to also expand into two new, important areas of research: amino acids and lipid oxidation products. There is considerable and growing interest in the importance of dietary lipids and amino acids in marine ecosystems and aquaculture, as well as in the use of marine lipids as biomarkers. Marine lipids comprise several lipid classes with considerable differences both in structure and function. The differences in structure permit their use as biomarkers. In the biomarker approach, certain signature compounds are used to integrate biological, physical and chemical parameters that define the status of an ecosystem. Using these compounds we can quantify inputs of essential nutrients and of deleterious compounds and we can trace their pathways. The GC will support several projects wherein our task is to determine lipid compounds and amino acids that are either critical to animal growth or that can be used as markers of processes occurring in the marine environment. Some very important marker or signature compounds we are working on are ones that may be used as an early warning of harmful algal blooms. We also propose to develop methods for toxic lipid oxidation products. Such compounds are often structurally quite complex and are present at very low levels, hence the use of sophisticated analytical equipment is required for their determination. Measurement of lipids, lipid oxidation products and amino acids in Newfoundland food webs is timely given the continuing problems with the ground fishery, interest in new fishery species, and the increasing level of aquaculture in this area. This instrument will provide data that are critical to the nutritional management of finfish and bivalve broodstock and larvae in Canadian aquaculture.