"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."
This is a proposal to obtain a state-of-the-art high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS), which will be located at the University of Mississippi (UM), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The instrument utilizes a doublefocusing (electric-magnetic) mass analyzer and is the technology of choice for trace and ultratrace elemental analysis because it offers the highest sensitivity and lowest detection limits of any ICP-MS. Moreover, it has the unique ability to resolve most isobaric interferences through high mass resolution. Because there are not such instruments in the area, it will be operated as a regional multi-user open access facility to be called the Mid-South Center for Trace Element Research (MSCTER). In addition to the UM faculty who have an immediate use for the instrument, a number of researchers at different institutions within a three hour drive will take advantage of the facility to advance their research. The proposed facility will not only facilitate interdisciplinary projects at UM but will encourage collaborations among researchers across the Mid-South. The PI has extensive experience with ICP-MS and together with the Co-PIs will oversee the facility, which will be modeled after other successful trace element analytical facilities, with costs being recharged at rates depending on user experience and technical staff involvement.
