Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer to Support Marine Science: Analysis of Essential Fatty Acids and Valuable Bioproducts

申请资金用于气相色谱-质谱仪（GCMS），这对三名申请人及其团队的研究计划至关重要。该仪器的一个关键方面是其化学电离选项，这是一种罕见的功能，可以确定多不饱和脂肪酸的结构。该仪器还集成了自动进样器和高性能烘箱，以确保快速处理样品和高通量。这种GCMS的主要应用将是在海洋环境中的天然化合物的表征和定量，特别关注多不饱和脂肪酸。所要求的设备所促成的研究将增进我们对海洋系统中必需脂肪酸的营养转移、海洋哺乳动物在加拿大鱼类种群动态中的作用以及生物加工的可持续方法的基本了解。因此，这里要求的GCMS系统将使三个申请人的各种研究计划取得重大进展。

Funding is requested for a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GCMS) that is essential to the research programs of the three applicants and their teams. A key aspect of this instrument is its chemical ionization option, a rare feature that enables structure determination of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The instrument also incorporates an autosampler and a high-performance oven to ensure rapid processing of samples and high throughput. The primary application of this GCMS will be in the characterization and quantification of naturally-occurring compounds in the marine environment, with a specific focus on polyunsaturated fatty acids. Research enabled by the requested equipment will increase our fundamental understanding of the trophic transfer of essential fatty acids in marine systems, the role of marine mammals in fish population dynamics in Canada and sustainable approaches to bioprocessing. Thus, the GCMS system requested here will enable significant advancements to be made in the diverse research programs of the three applicants.