Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

A gas chromatography (GC) system hyphenated to a quadrupole mass selective detector (MSD) is requested for the Laboratory for the Analysis of Natural and Synthetic Environmental Toxicants (L.A.N.S.E.T.) at uOttawa, a research and training facility that routinely analyzes perhaps the widest range of natural and synthetic environmental toxicants of any university-based laboratory in Canada. A basic requirement for our analysis is to conduct chromatographic separations of analytes followed by analysis by mass selective detection. The system requested here is to replace old and outdated equipment, and will represent a fundamental research tool without which our projects cannot be completed. Moreover, L.A.N.S.E.T. provides analytical support to universities and industries nationally and internationally. A GC-MSD platform will permit a broad range of studies examining the presence and distribution of environmental pollutants and their associated risks. Our graduate students and postdoctoral researchers will be trained on this state-of-the-art instrumentation, providing them with marketable skills to make them competitive in the job market after graduation. This equipment will contribute to our national training program for graduate students in environmental chemistry and toxicology, and enable important environmental research on hydrocarbons and endocrine disrupting chemicals that is highly relevant to industry, academia, and government regulators.