With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multi-User Instrumentation (CRIF:MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry at the University of South Florida will acquire a high-resolution electrospray time-of-flight (ESI-TOF) mass spectrometer with a high performance liquid chromatogram (HPLC). This mass spectrometer will enhance a variety of research projects including: (a) the isolation and characterization of marine natural products; (b) the development of organic synthetic methodologies and their application to the synthesis of biologically important natural products; (c) characterization of constrained dipeptide units as beta-hairpin stabilizers; (d) the biosynthesis of novel amide metabolites; (e) the design and synthesis of novel N-thiolated beta-lactams; and (f) the study of novel, nano-scale, self-assembled cages. The instrument will be incorporated into both a senior-level "Methods" course and a graduate-level "Tools of Research" course. The high-resolution mass spectrometer will also facilitate collaboration between other USF departments and area industries and universities.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique used to probe intimate structural details and to obtain the molecular compositions of a vast array of organic, bioorganic, and organometallic molecules. It is one of the fastest growing and most widely used analytical instrumentation techniques. The instrument will impact research in the areas of marine natural products, peptide chemistry, synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, materials chemistry, and nanotechnology.
