With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, the Chemistry Department at Armstrong Atlantic State University will acquire a liquid chromatograph equipped with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (LCMS-TOF) system to support the research activities of the faculty and their undergraduate student researchers at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) and Savannah State University (SSU). A variety of research needs will be met by the acquisition of this instrument including: screening of a bakers' yeast reductase library, the investigation of systematic mutations of these reductases, the study of humic and fulvic acids from local wetlands, interactions of copper-containing proteins and complexes with biological molecules, the detection of benzoxazinones used for obesity treatment, the analysis of aquatic predatory and prey alarm cues, and the detection of secondary metabolites from grape, rose and banana.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is used to identify the chemical composition of a sample and determine its purity by measuring the mass of the molecular constituents in the sample after they are ionized and detected by the mass spectrometer. Chromatography is an isolation technique that precedes the mass spectrometry analysis. It separates a mixture into its several constituent chemicals which are then analyzed by the mass spectrometer. These are widely used analytical techniques to identify and quantify the chemical composition of a sample. It is important for undergraduate students to be trained in the technique using modern instrumentation. In addition to applications in their research projects, students will use the instrumentation in two upper-level chemistry courses and exercises will be designed for labs in the biology department. Faculty at other area institutions will have access to the spectrometer.
