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Position-specific stable isotope analysis for elucidating provenance and fate of organic matter


EMSL Project ID
51156

Abstract

The EMSL 21T FTICR MS is amongst the highest mass resolution of any mass spec ever developed (> 6M at m/z 700 (Shaw et al., 2016)). We seek to provide a proof of concept that suitable stability and background control measures can be employed to FTICR operation to enable leveraging of this industry-leading mass resolution for position-specific stable isotope measurement within environmentally relevant organic molecules. Mass spectral analysis at 21T resolves rare isotopologues of organic compounds that reflect naturally occurring isotopic abundances (e.g., 2H, 13C, 15N, 17/18O, 33/34/36S, etc.). This proposed proof of concept seeks to quantitatively evaluate the ability to precisely and accurately measure these isotopic variations at levels currently unattainable to the scientific community for compounds with high molecular weight (> 300 u). Successful demonstration of this capability will unlock efforts for characterizing provenance of biogeochemically relevant natural organic compounds and provide a means for a single, static measurement to reveal aspects of the synthetic and degradation histories of targeted molecules.

Project Details

Start Date
2019-10-01
End Date
2021-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

James Moran
Institution
Michigan State University

Team Members

Rene Boiteau
Institution
Oregon State University

William Kew
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

John Eiler
Institution
California Institute of Technology

Jared Shaw
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory