Practical Implementation of Novel Analysis Protocols for the Separation of Complex Environmental Mixtures

Measurements of composition - i.e. which chemical species are present, at what abundance, in a given compartment - underpins much environmental science, ranging from fundamental understanding of natural processes through to assessment of the sources and impacts of man-made pollution. A key requirement for such analyses is that they are specific - that individual species can be identified and independently quantified. This can be a challenging task as most environmental mixtures (e.g. water, air) are highly complex at the trace species level.

With a focus upon atmospheric measurements, we have developed a new approach to use mass spectrometry techniques to separate chemical species in complex environmental mixtures. The basis of our approach is to deliberately cause target molecules to fragment or break-up within the instrument, in a controllable and species-dependent way, and use the resulting fragmentation pattern to identify species which are not usually distinguishable from each other. This work has been supported by a current NERC CASE PhD studentship, held by Mr Daniel Blenkhorn (proposed intern candidate) in association with Kore Technology Ltd as industrial partner.

Our work within the CASE studentship has demonstrated the potential for this approach, in theory and in controlled scenarios. Within this Innovation Internship project, we seek to build upon this to achieve a practical implementation of the methodology within PTR-MS systems, through a six-month placement for Mr Blenkhorn at Kore. We will implement our separation algorithms in a user-friendly format (spreadsheet template), and develop approaches for the necessary data collection (instrument parameter space scanning) for application by instrument end-users across the NERC community, demonstrate their performance using real-world data sets, and make the resulting new tools freely available online. The internship will thus enhance the impact of NERC science in the priority area of Environmental Data. The intern opportunity will also provide valuable skills training in a commercial R&D environment for Mr Blenkhorn, and lead to new approaches to the use of environmental data in future.