Funds are requested from the Division of Research Resources for the purchase a Nermag R30-10 triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer. The instrument will have a mass range of 2000 daltons and resolution of 5000 at m/z 1466. The collision cell will be situated in the second quadrupole (Q2). It will be possible to vary the collision energy in the cell from 0 to + 200 eV and the collision gas pressures from 10-3 to 10-1 Torr. The instrument will be equipped with a Thermospray LC/MS interface and a fast atom bombardment source. Operation of the instrument will be under control of a proprietary data system configured on the DEC PDP 11/73 computer and RS 53 disc drive. Data reduction, manipulation and storage will be carried out on this data system. Manual controls are available so that individual operating parameters can be optimized prior to analysis of precious samples. The instrument has capabilities for daughter ion scanning, pre- cursor ion scanning and scanning for neutral losses as well as traditional scanning techniques normally used on a single stage instrument. Access to the various sources for cleaning or changing is facilitated by the plug-in design. Ion detection is carried out on the photomultiplier """"""""Coniphot"""""""" system developed by Nermag. This method of detection is considered superior to detection by an electron multiplier because the unit is sealed and is consequently less susceptible to contamination either during operation or during source changing. The Nermag quadrupole system is extremely robust and easy to use, we currently have in excess of 25 operators for our three single stage analyzers. The instruments are ideally configured for our needs in this multi-user environment. Their extraordinary sensitivity, coupled with their ease of use, has facilitated the research of an enormous diversity of Investigators at Vanderbilt. The technology employed in the design of the single stage instruments has been used in the development of the Nermag R30-10 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Thus, it is anticipated that a Nermag R30-10 would make a significant impact on our ability to carry out the analysis of bioactive molecules in numerous on-going research projects as detailed in this proposal.
