Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C507129/1
Development of a new method for compound-specific stable isotope analysis of proteinaceous materials for ecological and biogeochemical research.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr H Mottram, University of Bristol, Chemistry
- Grant held at:
- University of Bristol, Chemistry
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Earth
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Natural Resource Management
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Behavioural Ecology
- Soil science
- Abstract:
- This project represents a pilot project aimed at developing a new approach to the compound specific stable isotopic analysis of amino acids in proteinaceous materials. Small, but characteristic variations in the natural abundances of the stable isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen of individual compounds can be measured using the technique of gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS). Such variations can be exploited to allow the use of isotopically distinct compounds as natural tracers, facilitating the investigation of routing, fractionation and fluxes of specific compounds in complex systems, such as ecosystems or living organisms. Amino acids and their biopolymers, peptides and proteins are an extremely important class of molecule in such experiments however their analysis by GC/C/IRMS presents a considerable challenge to the analytical chemist since their functional groups must be chemically derivatised prior to gas chromatographic separation to improve chromatography and prevent irreversible adsorption onto the GC column and other components of the chromatographic system. Whilst many derivatisation methods have been devised for the gas chromatographic analysis of amino acids, all have drawbacks when applied to GC/C/IRMS analyses. In this proposal, we propose a new approach in which pyrolysis is used as an alternative to derivatisation. Pyrolysis is a technique by which controlled thermal degradation of a macromolecule is achieved, thereby producing high volatility products characteristic of the original molecule. The pyrolysis of proteinaceous material gives rise to a range of thermal cleavage products, many of which retain only a fraction of the original molecular skeleton. Other compounds, however, retain all the constituent atoms of the precursor. We suggest that the stable isotope ratios obtained for these compounds will reflect the isotope profile of the original molecule. The project will firstly investigate potential compounds to use as isotopic markers. This will be carried out through analysis of individual amino acids and peptides. A crucial step will then be to verify that the isotope ratios of the parent compounds have been recorded representatively and that no isotopic fractionation has occurred during this pyrolysis procedure. This project is intended to develop and rigorously test a method which would then have a wide range of specific applications within the NERC remit, ranging from the characterisation of organic nitrogen compounds in the biosphere and isotope tracer studies aimed at understanding the fluxes and fate of these N-containing species to dietary tracing experiments, food web elucidation and plant-soil interactions.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C507129/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- New Investigators Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- New Investigators
This grant award has a total value of £52,459
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £26,550 | £3,342 | £10,354 | £12,213 |
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