UAA researchers awarded National Science Foundation grant for specialty lab equipment

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a grant to several UAA researchers for a new High Performance Liquid Chromatograph coupled to a Triple Quadrupole and Ion Trap. This equipment will be hosted in the Applied Science, Engineering and Technology Laboratory (ASET). The NSF award was made to Principal Investigator (PI) Birgit Hagedorn of the Environment and Natural Resources Institute (ENRI) and Co-PI's: John Kennish (Chemistry), Marc Perry (Chemistry), Don Spalinger (Biological Sciences) and Jeffrey Welker (ENRI).

The instruments are state-of-the-art analytical equipment used to analyze contaminants (e.g. pesticides, plasticizers, perchlorate), drugs (e.g. nicotine), and hormones (e.g. estrogen). They also allow researchers to determine structural composition of organic compounds (e.g. organo-metallic complexes, proteins) which is important for chemical, biomedical and pharmaceutical research. The instruments are applied in a wide range of disciplines including environmental chemistry, organic chemistry, biological sciences, biomedical sciences, pharmacy and forensic) and therefore will strengthen research at UAA and enhance interdisciplinary collaborations across campus and outside campus. This equipment will be used in the "instrumental chemistry" class, summer workshops and both undergraduate and graduate research projects. It will provide students with hands-on experiences on state-of-the-art instrumentation increasing their ability to enter graduate school or follow a professional career.

With the exception of the IonTrap, the instruments have been set up in the ASET Laboratory since April; this summer they will move together with other equipment of the ASET lab to the new ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building. The ASET Laboratory at UAA is a state-of-the art quantitative analytical facility. It is designed to accommodate a range of analytes in diverse matrices to support multidisciplinary research. The modern analytical equipment of the ASET Laboratory is provided by the University of Alaska Foundation and the National Science Foundation's EPSCoR Program Office.

The equipment supports researchers throughout the UA system as well as those in the government and private sectors through appropriate mechanisms such as cooperative agreements, grants and contracts. For more information, visit the ASET Web site.