Award Abstract # 2117527
MRI: Acquisition of a Normal Phase Single Quadrupole High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (HPLC-MS) for Innovative Paleoclimate and Paleoenvironmental Research

NSF Org: EAR
Division Of Earth Sciences
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
Initial Amendment Date: August 23, 2021
Latest Amendment Date: September 7, 2022
Award Number: 2117527
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Luciana Astiz
lastiz@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4705
EAR
 Division Of Earth Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: September 1, 2021
End Date: August 31, 2023 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $201,803.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $201,803.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2021 = $201,803.00
History of Investigator:
  • Melissa Berke (Principal Investigator)
    Melissa.Berke.1@nd.edu
  • Jason McLachlan (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Adrian Rocha (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Notre Dame
940 GRACE HALL
NOTRE DAME
IN  US  46556-5708
(574)631-7432
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: University of Notre Dame
940 Grace Hall
Notre Dame
IN  US  46556-5708
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): FPU6XGFXMBE9
Parent UEI: FPU6XGFXMBE9
NSF Program(s): Major Research Instrumentation
Primary Program Source: 01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1580
Program Element Code(s): 118900
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

The acquisition of a high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) will support environmental research and educational activities led by Professor Melissa Berke and colleagues Adrian Rocha and Jason McLachlan at the University of Notre Dame. The HPLC-MS will be configured for state-of-the-art microbial membrane lipid analysis, optimized for the best reproducibility and resolution, innovations that have significantly changed the fields of paleoclimatology and paleoecology. HPLC-MS has propelled the growth of rapid, sensitive, and more economical detection of compounds that are harder to measure using earlier methods and instrumentation. The acquisition of this instrument strengthens the research infrastructure at the university and within the Midwest and in addition promotes multi-disciplinary collaborations. The instrument will help broaden participation by involving undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds who can use this analytical tool and resulting proxies in environmental change research. The new instrument will be available for use by other researchers at Notre Dame and beyond.

The award supports the acquisition a new high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) for measurement of microbial membrane lipids, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) at the University of Notre Dame. The Single Quad HPLC-MS will run in normal phase with solvent eluents, have an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source, a thermostatted column compartment that can fit multiple columns in tandem, a fraction collector for preparative mode, and an autosampler. Improvements in HPLC-MS have propelled the growth of rapid, sensitive, and more economical detection of higher molecular weight and polar compounds. Further, recent advances in microbial ecology and organic geochemistry have expanded our understanding of microbial lipid synthesis and spatial distribution, particularly with respect to membrane lipids of Bacteria and Archaea, known as GDGTs, some of the most ubiquitous lipids on Earth. Together, these innovations in analytical chemistry and understanding of microbial processes have led to proxy development using GDGT distributions and abundances to revolutionize research pertaining to changing environmental conditions, critical to understanding paleoclimatology.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

This major research instrumentation (MRI) award was to purchase, install, and test a new single quadrupole high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) with APCI source, run in normal phase (solvent seals and valves) with temperature-controlled column space, fraction collector, and autosampler. The HPLC-MS has the capability to run compounds that are difficult to run with other techniques (such as gas chromatography), including the membrane lipids of Bacteria and Archaea known as glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs). Advances in the measurement of GDGTs and new methodology using HPLC-MS have opened up new proxies critical to paleoclimatology and paleoenvironmental research, and will now be implemented at the University of Notre Dame. Proxy development using GDGT distributions and abundances have revolutionized climate research pertaining to changing environmental conditions, including water temperature in oceans and lakes, soil pH, air temperature from soils, organic matter input into aquatic environments, and microbial ecology and community structure.

The Agilent HPLC-MS is operated and maintained by the Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility (MSPF) and members of the Berke Lab at Notre Dame. The MSPF serves the departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Biological Sciences in the College of Science, the departments of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences in the College of Engineering, and the nearby Indiana University School of Medicine – South Bend. The new HPLC-MS is available 24/7 as an open access system for trained users. All analyses to date follow the methods outlined in the recent literature (i.e. de Jonge et al., 2014; Hopmans et al., 2016) and have been thoroughly tested and optimized for this new instrument.

            In addition to the installation and methodological testing that this award facilitated, the broader impacts of this MRI focused on student education and mentoring. The award supported the training of multiple graduate and undergraduate students, broadening participation in earth sciences from underrepresented groups. The instrument and environmental data that can be generated has been featured on tours to wide-ranging groups through the MSPF facility. Finally, new collaborations have been developed due to the data this instrumentation can provide.


Last Modified: 11/06/2023
Modified by: Melissa A Berke

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