Mass Spectrometry: a powerful analytical tool for the detection andidentification of organic compounds

Department of Chemistry
The Chemistry Department is pleased toinvite you to a general lecture entitled

Mass Spectrometry: a powerful
analytical tool for the detection and identification of organic compounds

Presented by Dr. Nawar Shenar

Abstract:
The general terminology "Mas
s Spectrometry" encompasses a large variety of techniques due to the differ
ent possible instrumental configurations of mass spectrometers. The choice
of a technique depends on the family of organic compounds under study (e.g.lipids, peptides, polymers, etc.) as well as the purpose of the analysi
s (e.g. molecule detection, chemical composition identification, structur
al elucidation, etc.). Due to this large variety of available techniques,mass spectrometry has a large spectrum of applications. Two major applicat
ion fields where mass spectrometry became a cornerstone are Proteomics and
Petroleomics.

In Proteomics, which can be defined as the study of an or
ganism's complete complement of proteins, two mass spectrometric technique
s are typically employed: (1) electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ES
I-MS) and (2) matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry(MALDI-MS).

Petroleomics is the term used to describe the study of all
components of a grade of crude oil (petroleum) and how these components aff
ect the properties and reactivity of that specific grade. The major mass sp
ectrometry techniques involved here are gas chromatography mass spectrometr
y (GC-MS) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (
FT-ICR MS).

Following a general introduction of the discipline, an exam
ple of applications of mass spectrometry in proteomics will be given throug
h a discussion of part of Dr. Shenar's PhD research. Finally, Dr. Shenar s
hall briefly present a part of her postdoctoral work with private sector cl
ients providing an example of mass spectrometry's application in petroleomi
cs.

Keywords

Mass spectrometry, ESI-MS, MALDI-MS, LDI-MS, pepti
des, crude oil.