UNH Today

两种新的科学仪器将使研究人员能够测量分子的重量，并促进我们对阿尔茨海默病的了解, soil microbes and contaminants like PFAS, addiction and more.

The instruments, called mass spectrometers, measure molecular weight. “Mass spectrometers essentially are like scales,” says professor of molecular, cellular and biomedical sciences Feixia Chu, who received a $1.1 million National Science Foundation grant for one of the instruments. Molecules with different molecular weights have distinct properties, she says, 可以与其他生化过程结合使用的信息，以识别和量化揭示复杂的蛋白质和修饰, sophisticated processes inside the cell. “它越来越成为细胞生物学发现的首选方法，”她补充说.

由朱棣文资助的ThermoFisher Orbitrap Ascend Tribrid质谱仪将加入由美国农业部资助的土壤生物地球化学和肥力教授的项目 Stuart Grandy and Paula Mouser, professor of civil and environmental engineering, in a mass spectrometry core facility located at the University Instrumentation Center in Parsons Hall. There, 这两种最先进的仪器不仅可供三位主要研究人员使用，而且可供UNH内外的无数研究人员使用，他们将使用它们来解决广泛的生物学问题.

“我们可以将其用于几乎所有与生物学相关的领域，从环境生物学到医学.”

“我们可以将其用于几乎所有与生物学相关的领域，从环境生物学到医学,” says Chu. Her primary use for the instrument will be in research, 与纪念斯隆凯特琳癌症中心合作，由美国国立卫生研究院资助, on the underlying mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease.

For Grandy and Mouser, 他们的ThermoFisher Orbitrap exploris120质谱仪正在帮助他们找到土上土. 格兰迪用它来确定哪些有机投入——肥料中的养分和矿物质, compost or other sources — contribute to building soil organic matter. 

“从这些角度了解土壤有机质是开发更有效的种植系统的关键，这些系统不会将氮和磷流失到环境中,” says Grandy. “Soil organic matter also stores carbon, 有助于减少大气中温室气体二氧化碳的浓度.” 

Mouser is measuring microbial lipids and organic contaminants in soils, water, wastewater and sludges. 她还将利用该仪器测量新出现的污染物，如全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质(PFAS). “该仪器极大地扩展了我们测量环境中新出现污染物的能力，并评估我们的工程系统在去除或减轻这些污染物方面的效果,” she says.

研究人员预计，这两种仪器将为横跨多个院系和学院的数十名UNH研究人员提供服务. 心理学副教授Sergey Charntikov将在他的成瘾研究中使用它, for instance, and mass spectrometry will help Kyung Jae Jeong and Edward Song, associate professors of chemical and electrical engineering, with engineering muscle cells and biosensors. Additionally, 来自整个大学的研究人员将利用它来揭示癌症、抑郁症和太阳能等研究领域的关键参与者和潜在目标.

The new instruments will also improve researchers’ efficiency. “它们速度更快，能够回答很多我们以前无法回答的问题,” says Chu. “I’m going to use it for almost everything I work on.”

有关大学仪器中心质谱核心的更多信息, contact UIC director Shawn Banker.