MRI: Acquisition of a Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry System for Research and Research Training

Ball State University, Muncie IN

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) programs, Ball State University will acquire a liquid chromatography-mass ppectrometry (LC-MS) system. The system is used to determine the composition of mixtures of materials obtained from various sources including samples obtained from chemical syntheses, environmental or biological sources. In this instrument the liquid chromatograph (LC) separates the complex mixture into its individual components, then mass spectrometer (MS) is used to determine the mass of the components by measuring the mass to charge ratio (m/z) of ions produced from the components. LC-MS is a powerful analytical tool for finding out what the components are in a complex sample. The instrument will be used by students in their research, training them for its usage in their careers. It will also be used in outreach to disabled students and underrepresented groups. The instrument will be used in research especially in areas such as (a) characterizating nitrogen heterocycles for materials and medicine; (b) designing RNA nanovehicles for drug delivery in phototherapy; (c) studying photochemistry of organic pollutants at air-water interface; (d) determining the role of mammalian CDC42 in cell signaling pathways with implications in bacterial infections; (e) understanding of the mechanism of apolipoprotein beta degradation with relevance to cholesterol related pathologies; (f) studying nanoparticle catalyzed photodegradation of organic compounds for environmental remediation; and (g) enabling the elucidating chemistry emanating from highly reactive aryl nitrenes and oxypyridinium salts to access synthetically useful motifs.