In research supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor Lubman and his students will study the fragmentation of ions subjected to laser photoexcitation. By adjusting the wavelength of the light, varying amounts of energy will be imparted to the molecules, thus allowing selected sets of bonds to break. The long term goal is to develop methods which will allow differential detection of similar biomolecules. %%% In research supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division, Lubman's group will investigate the competitive kinetics of gas phase ion fragmentation permitted by near-threshold photoexcitation. In a collisionless environment, internal redistribution of absorbed energy allows selected subsets of bonds to break. While one cannot target breaking of specific bonds, it is hoped that characteristic sets of bonds can be kinetically preferred for particular excitation conditions.
