The McLuckey Lab
In our group, we do mass spectrometry-related research with a strong emphasis on the chemistry and physics associated with the mass spectrometry experiment itself. A major objective is to improve and expand the scope of measurements based on various forms of mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. This ‘fundamentals-based’ approach sheds light on the processes involved in the three stages of most tandem mass spectrometry experiments: making ions, probing ions, and measuring ions. We apply both novel insights and novel tools to the study of biomolecules, such as proteins, peptides, lipids, nucleic acids, and large bio-complexes. Our group consists of members from a wide array of backgrounds, and we celebrate the diversity that enables our multidisciplinary approach.
With our modified instruments, we can perform a wide array of chemical reactions within the mass spectrometer. This offers many advantages over solution phase chemistry. These chemical reactions can be carried out on the time scale of a mass spectrometry experiment, i.e. FAST! We also have a high degree of selectivity by mass selecting our reagents, and eliminating many potential matrix effects present in solution. Our lab members discover, develop, and apply novel ion-ion reactions to enable new or improved analytical measurements. The ability to generate ions from a wide variety of species ranging from atoms to large bio-complexes gives rise to an extraordinarily wide range of research possibilities.
We look at a wide range of biomolecules, from small peptides to megadalton biological complexes. The new chemistries and new tools derived from our work are applied to the structural characterization of many lipid classes, peptides, intact proteins, and nucleic acids. We are currently developing ion-ion reactions and instrumentation for high m/z ion manipulation and analysis for the mass determination of large bio-complexes associated with ‘native mass spectrometry’. We are also engaged in research intended to improve the generation of ions of interest using both gas-phase and condensed-phase approaches.
We base much of our work on the axiom “New tools beget new science.” The development of novel instrumentation and the modification of existing instrumentation to enable new experiments underlie our approach to discovery. With our collaborators at SCIEX, we have modified several SCIEX platforms to allow simultaneous trapping of ions of opposite polarities, to have dipolar direct current capabilities, and to allow the use of external waveforms. We also have a long history of building custom instrumentation. Current projects include an Electrostatic Linear Ion Trap (ELIT) as well as a tandem 2D-3D ion trap. The ELIT enables mass measurements in either the time- or frequency-domains (or both), provides very high-resolution mass selection via ‘mirror switching’, and allows for a variety of dissociation methods. The tandem 2D-3D ion trap allows for dual ionization sources, ion-ion reactions, UVPD, IRPD and digital waveform trapping and ion manipulation.
© 2024, McLuckey Research Group | Division of Analytical Chemistry
Department of Chemistry, Purdue University
560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47909
