Funding is requested for the purchase of a dedicated capillary gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (CGC-MS) instrument to facilitate research in biological chemistry conducted by five primary and five secondary user groups. Complex mixtures of volatiles would be separated by capillary GC, ionized by chemical ionization or electron impact, and analyzed by a computer-driven acquisition system. No current instrumentation is available on or off campus which could provide this hands-on analytical capability. The instrument will be used in several major projects. 1. analysis of pheromone metabolism in moths, for identification of juvenile hormones, for isolation of novel juvenoids and antijuvenoids from insect tissues, and for analysis of metabolites of fluorine-and silicon-containing squalene analogs. 2. separation of isotopically-labeled compounds from catalytic reactions with P-450 models. 3. to examine changes in membrane steroid composition which occur in antibiotic-resistant mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum. 4. in the identification of lupine alkaloids in stressed plants. Projects proposed by five minor users include 1. analysis of phenolic metabolites obtained from peroxidase action; 2. flash vacuum pyrolysis for analysis of nonvolatile molecules; 3. analysis of complex heterocycles in molecular recognition experiments; 4. development of new synthetic methods in asymmetric synthesis; and 5. analysis of facial stereochemistry in adamantyl derivatives.
