9201814 Amster Funds are requested for the purchase an extended mass range triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. This instrument will used by investigators in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry to determine the molecular weights of peptides and proteins with sizes in the range 1,000-100,000 Da, the primary structures of proteins, and the number and location of metal atoms in native and modified proteins. The requested spectrometer will facilitate characterization of transforming growth factor E, pyridoxal-5' phosphate binding sites, biological electron transfer pathways, and a range of native and mutated metalloenzymes and metalloproteins. The proposed instrument will be used for training and research directly related to the NSF research training group in the role of transition metals in biology at the University of Georgia.
