Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

We request funds to purchase a high sensitivity gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), an instrument that is urgently needed to replace the irreparably broken ion trap instrument that has served our research programs for 17 years. There is no other instrument at Simon Fraser University with the required sensitivity to support our work. The GC separates compounds in mixtures and the MS analyzes the compounds as they emerge from the GC. A wide range of research projects in our laboratories are dependent on high sensitivity GC-MS, for example, the analysis of biologically relevant molecules, such as enzymes known as cytochromes P450, which break down organic substrates using oxygen. Another example is in research that looks at how insect pheromones are metabolized. We are interested in assessing the amounts of active volatile compounds that can paralyze Varroa mites in bee hives, as well as analyzing the volatile blends emitted by microbiota and mapping natural product biosynthetic pathways using labelled precursor molecules we make. Research such as ours, that looks at low levels of compounds, requires a highly sensitive MS that has a special focusing mechanism for monitoring extremely small levels of ions generated from the compounds being analyzed. For example, enzyme assays with P450 generate trace quantities of product (~ 10 -9 gram), and the amount of product we inject into the instrument is even less (e.g., 10 -12 gram). Another key part of the new GC-MS is an apparatus that automatically injects samples; this helps to increase the number of samples that can be analyzed each day, and it meets the needs of projects with systematic screening components, for example of volatile compounds from different microbiota or products generated by different P450 mutant/substrate combinations. The proposed research is currently funded in both applicants laboratories, yet GC-MS analyses are on hold, due to the lack of a high sensitivity GC-MS. Funding for the requested instrument will allow current graduate/undergraduate students, postgraduate researchers and future trainees to complete their research programs and learn an important analytical technique that is widely used. Our research provides fundamental insights into the mechanism of oxidation enzymes, insect olfaction, natural product biosynthesis and volatile signals produced by microbiota, which, for example, can lead to new antibiotics or mite control agents, in addition to training highly qualified personnel.