BU Research and Education Benefit from New CIC Instruments
In response to BU’s continued success in recruiting faculty who are addressing today’s most challenging research problems, the Chemical Instrumentation Center (CIC) on the Charles River Campus is successfully growing its infrastructure with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the University, and industry.
In September 2013, the Chemistry Department and the CIC received support from the NSF, with cost-sharing by BU, to purchase a MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometer. This instrument will enable the work of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates in Chemistry, Biology, Biomedical Engineering and other departments of the Charles River Campus. It will help advance chemical research in the life processes, including such areas as dendritic and linear polymers, proteins and peptides, and novel synthetic organic materials. It addition, the MALDI-TOF will enable truly interdisciplinary training at the interface of Chemistry-Biology, Polymers, and Organic Materials.
With support from the University, Chemistry has also recently (January 2014) purchased a 300 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometer to replace an obsolete system. The new high resolution FT NMR will facilitate the access and development of more sophisticated experiments in undergraduate courses. The Chemistry Department provides hands-on training to more than 1,500 undergraduate students on NMR, LC/MS and other advanced analytical characterization techniques on a yearly basis. In conjunction with the LC/MS, supported by the University in 2011, the new 300 MHz NMR will continue BU’s efforts to prepare its undergraduates with the modern instrumentation skills necessary for their graduate and/or industry careers.
Most recently, in February 2014, the CIC was the recipient of a major instrument donation (mass spectrometer) from the biotechnology community. The instrument, a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (LTQ-FT-ICR) MassSpectrometer will advance studies on advanced proteomics and metabolomics. It will immediately impact the research programs of faculty across several departments of CAS and ENG, as well as at the BU Medical School and cognate colleges (Wellesley and Simmons). This donated instrument is only the most recent from private industry. Past donations have included other mass spectrometers and liquid chromatography instrumentation.
The CIC, which was redesigned in 2005, is located in the lower level of the Metcalf Science Complex (SCI) with satellite space in the Life Sciences & Engineering Building (LSE). Under the leadership of its Director, Dr. Norman Lee, the Center has grown to become a core resource supporting research and teaching activities on the CRC and the BU Medical Campus. It houses four major areas of analytical and optical instrumentation, including chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS, HPLC, LC/MS), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR, NMR), optical & analytical spectroscopy (FT-IR, Fluorescence, UV-Vis, etc) and x-ray crystallography. For further information about the Center, please visit the Center’s website.