With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at California State University in Northridge will acquire a liquid chromatograph ion trap tandem mass spectrometer (LC/MS). Five areas of research will immediately benefit from the requested LC-MS instrumentation: (1) Direct design of transfer hydrogenation catalysts. LC-MS will be used in confirmation of key reaction intermediates (especially ruthenium hydrides and catalyst-substrate adducts) as well as characterization of new catalysts and the products they produce. (2) Understanding fundamental molecular processing in organic sonochemistry. LC-MS will facilitate the determination of intermediate structures from thermal and hydroxyl radical pathways and distinction of the underlying mechanisms. (3) Aromatase-induced metabolism of poly-functional 1,5-alkadiyne anti-tumor agents. LC-MS will be important to confirm aromatase-drug interactions, identify metabolites and test pro-drug designs for targeted delivery of promising agents in breast cancer. (4) Simultaneous analysis of mRNA and protein. LC-MS will be used in the separation and identification of target proteins (beginning with estrogen receptor in breast cancer cells) from bulk lysate samples. (5) Evaluation of the extent and sites of apolipoprotein E glycation. LC-MS will be used to confirm fructoselysine residues within proteolytic fragments of apolipoprotein E secreted from THP-1 macrophages at elevated glucose concentrations.
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 California State University in Northridge, a primarily undergraduate institution. These studies will have a solid impact in the area of biochemistry and medicinal chemistry.
