School Acquires New Mass Spectrometer

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A R15 million grant from the National Research Foundation has enabled the School of Chemistry and Physics to purchase a new Mass Spectrometer, which will be housed on the Pietermaritzburg campus.

The installation is thanks to the efforts of Professor Matthew Akerman, former academic leader of Teaching and Learning in the School and current cluster leader for Chemistry in Pietermaritzburg.

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a mass spectrum, a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used in many different fields and is applied to pure samples as well as complex mixtures.

The instrument generates ions by inducing either the loss or gain of a charge from a neutral species. Once formed, ions are electrostatically directed into a mass analyser where they are separated according to m/z and finally detected.

Supplied by the Waters Corporation with Microsep acting as the local agents, UKZN’s new Mass Spectrometer will allow for a wide variety of molecules to be ionised, and has the option of soft ionisation to maintain protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions into the gas phase. Possibly most importantly, the instrument incorporates a travelling wave ion-mobility (IM) cell, thereby providing unique multi-purpose functionality. This expands its applications to drug discovery, structural biology, biochemistry and peptide research.

Akerman said that high-resolution mass spectrometers (HRMS) are critical to advancement in many fields of chemistry, particularly medicinal, organic and analytical chemistry. ‘This is a huge coup for UKZN as there are only six Mass Spectrometers in Africa,’ said Dean and Head of the School of Chemistry and Physics, Professor Ross Robinson. ‘Such a specialised facility is not only relevant to one School but can be utilised across the Sciences at UKZN.’

An official opening ceremony is planned for September, with Professor Graham Robert Cooks who is the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the Aston Laboratories for Mass Spectrometry at Purdue University invited as the guest speaker.

A workshop explaining the uses of the new Mass Spectrometer will be run in conjunction with the event.

Words: Sally Frost

Photograph: Supplied