Low resolution mass spectrometer for fast characterization of heterocyclic compounds

合成具有药用价值的新生物活性化合物是治疗癌症、心血管疾病和其他医院感染的持续挑战，这是加拿大主要关注的问题。大多数显示对这些疾病有用的生物学特性的化合物具有杂环骨架，如panacene， juglomycin a, mesembrine, lycoramine，黄曲霉毒素B或异羟基脓毒素。不幸的是，这些产品的自然数量是非常有限的，其提取会破坏整个生态系统的生物多样性。因此，为了潜在的生物医学应用，发现新的合成方法来快速获得这些结构是非常重要的。在此背景下，我们的研究项目致力于开发杂环化学的新方法及其在天然生物活性化合物全合成中的应用。在这项研究中，我们必须确定每次反应后得到的化合物的结构，以检查它们的可行性。在众多可供化学家使用的分析技术中，低分辨率质谱法将是我们实验室必不可少的有效工具。事实上，这项技术，允许快速测定分子质量的化合物，是可靠的，易于使用，多种类型的化合物和高度敏感。由于它将每天用于检查我们的反应产物，因此该分析仪器将代表我们研究计划发展的主要资产。这项研究将通过发现新的反应类别来改善有机化学知识，并通过合成具有很高生物医学潜力的化合物为加拿大人的健康带来长期利益。

Synthesis of new bioactive compounds of pharmaceutical interest represents a continuing challenge for curing cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other nosocomial infections, which is of major concern in Canada. Most of the compounds demonstrating useful biological properties against these diseases possess a heterocyclic skeleton such as panacene, juglomycin A, mesembrine, lycoramine, aflatoxin B or isohydroxypsorofebrin. Unfortunately, the natural quantity of these products is highly limited and its extraction would damage the biodiversity of a whole ecosystem. Consequently, it is extremely important to discover new synthetic methods to get these structures quickly for a potential biomedical application. In this context, our research program is dedicated to the development of novel methodologies in heterocyclic chemistry and their application in total synthesis of natural bioactive compounds. During this research we will have to identify the structure of the compounds obtained after each reaction in order to check their feasibility. Among the numerous analytical techniques available for the chemist, low resolution mass spectrometry would be an efficient and indispensable tool for our laboratory. Indeed, this technique, allowing a fast determination of molecular mass compounds, is reliable, easy to use, versatile in terms of the types of compounds and highly sensitive. As it will be used everyday for checking the products of our reactions, this analytical instrument will represent a major asset for the development of our research program. This research would lead to the improvement of organic chemistry knowledge by the discovery of new classes of reactions as well as to long-term benefits for the health of Canadians with the synthesis of compounds demonstrating a high biomedical potential.