This project is in the area of instrument development. A two- pronged effort in development of a new generation quadruple sector mass spectrometer with extraordinary sensitivity and the capability for collision iduced dissociation will be conducted in parallel with a project involving Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS). In the former case the efforts of the Midwest Center for Mass Spectrometry will be continued with the additional focus of the design, construction, evaluation, and application of the new instrument to important problems in chemistry and biology. Research will be conducted on three important fronts including: fast atom bombardment and secondary ion mass spectrometry for structural elucidation of biomolecules, collaborative research on difficult problems in the life sciences, and chemical studies that require high sensity and/or better mass resolution in the observation of collision products. In addition, ultratrace analysis and ion chemistry studies will be continued. The program in FTMS will focus on model development, tool development, and instrumentation development directed toward solving significant chemical problems. Continuing research will include laser-based methods for FTMS and further investigation of tandem mass spectrometry approaches by FTMS. Thus, two centrally important areas in mass spectrometry will be encompassed in this project.
