MRI: Acquisition of a MALDI-TOF/TOF Mass Spectrometer for Molecular Structure Determination and Imaging

With this award from the Chemistry Major Research Instrumentation Program that is co-funded by the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program, Professor Michael Bowser from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and colleague Joseph Dalluge will acquire a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) with molecular imaging capability. The proposal is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) characterization of synthetic multiblock copolymers essential to the development of next-generation polymeric materials; (b) moving beyond classical histology and immunohistochemistry to characterize engineered tissues and assess the efficacy of a new generation of engineered drug delivery agents; (c) identification of biofoulants adsorbed to engineered chemical sensors designed for clinical and environmental monitoring; d) determination of spatial heterogeneity of subcellular-specific autophagy markers; (e) structural characterization of bioactive proteins and nucleic acids; and (f) assessing high-speed, high peak capacity, 2D microfluidic separations to improve capabilities and efficiency in systems biology research.

Mass Spectrometry (MS) is one of the key analytical methods used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species embedded in complex matrices. In a typical experiment, the components flow into a mass spectrometer where they are ionized into the parent ion and its fragment ions and their masses are measured. This highly sensitive technique allows detection and determination of the structure of molecules in a complex mixture. An instrument with tandem capability provides additional structural identification power through further fragmentation of ions produced in the spectrometer. The instrumentation provided by this award will provide faculty and students in several departments the opportunity to pursue research projects using modern instrumentation not heretofore available at the institution. In addition, acquisition of the proposed instrument will enable collaboration with Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) to provide undergraduate organic chemistry students at ARCC (>50% of whom are students of color, women, or students with disabilities) the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with this technology, improving the pipeline that connects 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities.