Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Mass spectrometry is an essential analytical technique in modern chemistry research. Over the past two decades developments in both hardware and data processing software have transformed this technique and its use in laboratory research. From a situation in the 1990's where mass spectrometry was the exclusive domain of specialists, we are now in a situation where mass spectrometers are routinely present in research facilities engaged in all aspects of chemistry. However, to date these open access instruments have been able to obtain only 'low-resolution' mass spectral data with accuracy up to one decimal place. This limits our ability to characterize the structures of molecules synthesized in the laboratory, and prevents researchers from employing many of the latest compound annotation tools, which require high accuracy mass spectral data. This proposal supports the purchase of a new benchtop 'high-resolution' mass spectrometry instrument that combines robust hardware design suitable for general laboratory use with accurate mass measurements up to four decimal places. This new instrument provides bench researchers with real-time access to high-resolution mass spectral data that will have a fundamental impact on the ways in which new research projects are performed, opening up new avenues for compound characterization and discovery in both basic and applied research areas.