We propose to establish a Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Core Facility at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) by acquisition of an inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS); a multi-phase atmospheric pressure photolysis (MAPP) mass spectrometry system with laser photolysis and quadrupole mass filter detection; and by upgrading the biomedical capabilities of an existing one-and-a-half year-old Thermo-Finnigan LCQ Deca ion trap LC/MS/MS instrument equipped with interchangeable electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical (APCI) ionization sources. ? ? MS is a fundamental tool for research in the molecular sciences and the Cal State LA Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Core Facility will be used extensively. It will allow Cal State LA investigators to follow paths of research inquiry currently unavailable to us. The research capabilities of the institution in the physical and biological sciences will be enhanced, which we expect will result in greater production of research publications and external funding to support investigations in these new areas. The initial major users of the requested instrumentation will be primarily Chemistry & Biochemistry SCORE principal investigators (PIs) Foster, Momand, Nickolaisen, Selke, Tunstad, Tikkanen, and Zhou. However, since mass spectrometry is becoming a useful analytical tool in biological and microbiological research, SCORE PIs in these disciplines will increasingly take advantage of the MS instruments as they seek molecular details appropriate to their research. There are also several non-SCORE PIs in these departments who will be able to advance their research efforts through the proposed mass spectrometry instrumentation. ? ? We will evaluate the impact of the proposed facility by keeping an electronic record of the users and frequency of use of the mass spectrometers. More significantly, we will keep track of the number of journal articles where the instrument was responsible for generation of data for the study; and of institutional success in obtaining external research grants. ? ?
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