Professor Kermit Murray of Louisiana State University is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to further the development and application of infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (IR-MALDI). IR-MALDI is not as widely accepted a method as MALDI using ultraviolet (UV) radiation, but offers some advantages including the ability to produce ions with less internal energy, the ability to produce ions without the use of a matrix, and the ability to characterize low molecular weight analytes without low mass interferences. Fundamental studies of IR laser desorption, two-pulse IR/UV MALDI, and particle ablation are being conducted as is the development of "direct from gel" IR laser desorption ionization strategies for peptide characterization. The PI uses a novel web-based Virtual Lab Tour to introduce college students to mass spectrometry and to introduce the public to what scientific researchers do on a daily basis.
Mass spectrometry in various forms has proven essential to the high-throughput highly accurate analysis of biological molecules. Given the high impact the UV-MALDI-MS technique has as a sensitive analytical technique (in particular in proteomics and increasingly in biomedical analysis), prospects for IR-MALDI are promising. This project outlines improvement of instrumentation and techniques in the area of mass spectrometry of biological molecules, as well as development of new approaches and applications that should expand the role of MALDI applications such as biomedical research, clinical measurements, and synthetic polymers.
