This award provides funding for the acquisition of a hybrid Mass Spectrometer for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). This instrument will make a fundamental contribution to TAMUCC's goals of increasing training and research opportunities for students and faculty, achieving national and international recognition as a premier marine and environmental science research institution, and promoting research collaborations among South Texas universities. This instrument will expand the research capabilities of 12 members of the faculty at TAMUCC. Each of these faculty members has research interests which largely focus on environmental chemistry which is a key component of the growing research endeavor in south Texas. It will provide an essential assessment tool for South Texas scientists to understand aquatic carbon and nitrogen.
With the hybrid Mass Spectrometer researchers will be able to detect and quantify thousands of compounds, including pollutants, in a single analysis and then design experiments to assess the metabolic role or effects of these compounds on organismal and ecosystem health. These areas of research are vital, not only to the rapidly developing South Texas region, but throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. The PIs represent a broad spectrum of research areas associated with marine and environmental science that would benefit from access to a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer. Research areas include characterization of dissolved organic matter, emerging contaminants, toxins, and natural products. The new instrumentation will enhance these programs as well as open up avenues for new research lines, new collaborations, and public-private partnerships.
