The technique, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry has become a foundational tool in chemical and biochemical research. Using MALDI-TOF one can quickly and accurately determine masses of proteins, nucleic acids, and other polymers well in excess of 100,000 and, just as importantly, resolve and analyze complex mixtures of smaller peptides and oligonucleotides. We are introducing this powerful new technique into the undergraduate curriculum by implementing MALDI-based experiments in five laboratory courses and by incorporating MALDI in ongoing student-faculty research projects. Our goal is to have students gain experience with MALDI-TOF technique and develop an appreciation for the applicability of the technique to a wide range of problems. In the instrumental analysis course students are using the MALDI-TOF technique to identify unknown proteins through peptide mapping, they synthesize polystyrene in organic chemistry and determine its molecular mass distribution, they restriction map a multiple cloning site in molecular biology, they create a profile of cysteine residues for a protein in biochemistry, and they identify unknown bacteria in microbiology. These new experiments, adapted from the educational and scientific literature, are enhancing the laboratory experience of our students by involving them in the cutting-edge mass spectroscopic tools needed to address many challenging problems encountered in the chemical and biochemical research laboratories.
