This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities Program will assist faculty in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of California Los Angeles to acquire modern data systems to support two Micromass ZAB-SE mass spectrometers. These two data systems will also be linked to the data system of an existing Micromass Autospec instrument in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry shared mass spectrometry laboratory. The mass spectrometry equipment will be used by the faculty in a number of chemical studies including: 1) the synthesis of modular arrays based on carborane-derived subunits; 2 ) the development of new synthetic methods and their application to the total synthesis of biologically active natural products; 3) the synthesis of endohedral metallofullerenes; 4) self assembly of interwoven supramolecular edifices and interlocked molecular compounds - the so-called catenanes and rotaxanes - containing mechanical bonds; and 5) studies of the chemistry, structure and reactivity of dicyano-diaminothiophenes and dicyano-diiminothiophene quinones.
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. The addition of the technique of electrospray extends the range of MS to protein and nucleic acid molecular weights far beyond any other technique. The use of electrospray ionization in combination with high resolution provides the latest technique available in mass spectrometry. It affords the chemist one of the most powerful tools available for the characterization of compounds. The acquisition of this capability in mass spectrometry is essential for the prosecution of frontier research in many fields of chemistry.
