Project: A new center for ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry in the geosciences

from www.whoi.edu:

The FT-MS Facility of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was established in October 2007 with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the WHOI Director of Research. The facility houses two major instruments: 1) a linear quadrupole-ion trap (LTQ) Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer and (2) a stand-alone LTQ mass spectrometer.

The WHOI FT-MS facility is unique in its ability to support scientists in marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry. Research in aquatic biogeosciences is challenging due to the physical complexity of the aqueous environment and the heterogeneity of microbial assemblages on both spatial and temporal scales. Such studies require instrumentation that can probe the detailed composition and structure of complex environmental mixtures on a molecular scale. The FT-MS facility offers key capabilities that are essential to these research goals: 1) ultrahigh resolution and high mass accuracy over a wide range of molecular weights (FT-ICR MS); 2) versatile ionization modes for a broad chemical nature of samples; and 3) multiple fragmentation options that are crucial to structural elucidation of large molecules using tandem mass spectrometry. The instruments and capabilities of the FT-MS facility are open to internal users as well as to outside scientists for sample analysis.