With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry and Physics at the University of Portland will acquire a liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometer (LC/MS). This equipment will be shared with researchers from Lewis & Clark College and Portland Veterans Medical Center. It will enhance research in a number of areas including a) natural product research, b) chemical communications between plants and their environment, c) regulation of biochemical pathways involved in synthesis of taxanes, carotenoids and sterols, d) elucidation of the mechanisms and kinetics of microbially mediated environmental processes, e) characterization of terpenoids and aromatic compounds, f) studies of hydrolysis of molybdenum metallocenes, and g) the screening and optimization of leads for antimalarial drugs.
Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (LC/MS) is an extremely powerful technique used for the separation and analysis of complex mixtures. This instrument will substantially strengthen scientific research at the University of Portland, a primarily undergraduate institution. These studies will have a solid impact in the area of biochemistry, environmental chemistry and medicinal chemistry.
