CRIF:MU - Acquisition of a Q-TOF Mass Spectrometer for Departmental Research and Education in Chemistry

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multi-user (CRIF:MU) program, Professor Richard Jordan and colleagues Chuan He, Gregory Hillhouse, Rustem Ismagilov and Hisashi Yamamoto from the University of Chicago will acquire a quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer coupled to a liquid chromatograph. The proposal will enhance research training and education at all levels, especially in areas of study such as (a) synthesis, reactivity and mechanisms of Group 4 metallocene catalysts, (b) group transfer reactions of low-coordinate nickel, (c) metal aryl oxides for catalytic organic transformations, (d) transition metal mediated carbon-carbon bond and C-heteroatom bond formation via C-H activation in organic synthesis, (e) chemical approaches to glial-neuronal networks, and (f) modular assemblies for controlling the cell-material interfaces. This mass spectrometer (Q-TOF) will be coupled to a high-resolution liquid chromatography system. This combines the physical separation capability of liquid chromatography with the mass analysis ability of mass spectrometry. The liquid chromatograph separates a mixture into its molecular components. These components flow into a mass spectrometer where their masses, and those of their fragments, are measured. A Q-TOF mass spectrometer is a special design that provides high mass accuracy, sensitivity and resolution that allows detection and determination of the structure of molecules in a complex mixture. The instrumentation will be used not only for research but also in laboratory courses to train significant numbers of students in the use of this important analytical technique and for outreach activities with Chicago public high schools and nearby universities such as Chicago State University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University and Roosevelt University.