Source: BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
HIGH RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETRY FOR HUMEOMIC, TOXIN, AND POLLUTANT DETERMINATIONS IN AGRICULTURAL LANDS AND THEIR WATERSHED ENVIRONMENTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031419
Grant No.
2023-70410-41211
Cumulative Award Amt.
$482,000.00
Proposal No.
2023-05455
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2023
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2027
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[EGP]- Equipment Grants Program
Project Director
Furgal, J. C.
Recipient Organization
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
319 ADMINISTRATION BLDG
BOWLING GREEN,OH 434030001
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This grant funding will be used to procure a high resolution mass spectrometry instrument that will be used to analyze small quantities of known and unknown substances for their weight and structure composition, not easily determined by other methods. The major uses of this instrument will be for the analysis of soil organic matter composition (i.e. nutrients), water toxin analysis (i.e. microcystins), and persistant pollutant analysis (i.e. perfluoroalkyl substances/PFAS), all for their societal impact oncrop yields, aquaculture, and food chain migration. These aspects are important for the overall health and wellbeing of the environment and the populace at large.This instrument will give Bowling Green State University an opportunity to move forwardand contribute impactful researchwith complex analysis capabilities and push forth the health and broader agriculturaleconomy of northwestern Ohio. This instrument will alsoaid in training a robust workforce that is skilled instate of the art analytical techniques necessary for clean water, industrial efficiency, and agricultural production.
Animal Health Component
85%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
85%
Developmental
5%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1027299200065%
7127299104010%
1337299200015%
9037299200010%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 133 - Pollution Prevention and Mitigation; 712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
7299 - Research equipment and methods, general/other;

Field Of Science
1040 - Molecular biology; 2000 - Chemistry;
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to procure a high resolution liquid chromatographymass spectrometry instrument for the effective analysis of agricultural soils and water ecosystems for nutrients, composition, and environmental pollutants present in low quantities. This goal will allow us to tackle the following objectives:Procure, order, and install high resolution mass spectrometry system at Bowling Green State UniversityUse to analyze the types, quantity,and determine the impact of Humic substances on soil quality and crop yield which are extracted through sequential chemical methods.Use to determine the composition of microbiological carbons and nutrients produced in soil environmentsUse to decipher natural and artificial toxins present in aquatic ecosystems such as for Harmful Algal Blooms and their originsUse to study nutrient capture and control release systems including nutrient analysis and capture system structural analysisUse to determine small quantities of environmental pollutants such as PFAS and their influence on agricultural ecosystems including plant uptake and transfer through the food chain.
Project Methods
BGSU has a Science Café that regularly features community talks from researchers affiliated with CGLWS who disseminate their research results to the larger NW Ohio community in a format designed for non-scientists through a live online TV style format with panel discussion. The group interacts with and advises the CIFT Agribusiness Forum based in the Bowling Green, OH area and is dedicated to connecting the most recent progress in farming practices to local farmers. We also regularly conduct hands-on outreach to high school students in diverse and economically disadvantaged areas on the impacts of pollutants in the environment including PFAS and micro/nanoplastics and the methods by which these pollutants can be removed from the environment using advanced materials. Lastly, we conduct summer research in their labs with local high school students, and this HRMS instrument will give them opportunities for high impact research in agricultural sciences not currently available. Overall, this instrument will have an enormous impact on the quality of agricultural and food research, publications, and presentations taking place in Northwest Ohio and will further BGSU's path to cutting-edge research of interest to the USDA and beyond.The outreach events are assessed through surveys to see how they change the knowledge and thinking of participants and to allow for future planning and improvements in such events. These events allow stakeholders to see how high resolution mass spectrometry is able to influence everyday life and their local environments.Overall success will be measured by visual impact on the local agricultural environment through method adoption, high level employment for our graduates through effective training, and an educated populace that understands the importance of science through the voting process.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:During this reporting period we sought to get the instrument available for internal users at BGSU from Chemistry, Biology, and Geology. This was achieved starting in Juneof this year and some results from this instrument will be included on article submissions in the near future. Initial training was conducted by Waters engineers and subsequently by our newly hired Mass Spec Manager Maowei Dou, PhD Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students at BGSU had not previously had access to a high resolution mass spectrometer. Thus far 12students and 2 faculty have completed training either from Waters or from our mass spectrometrist on the instrument. This is 9from chemistry (1 undergrad), 2 from biology, and one from geology. The opportunities thus far have been for research purposes, but it will be used this fall in our Organic Spectroscopy Course. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An article on the instrument was published by BGSU media:https://www.bgsu.edu/news/2024/03/high-resolution-mass-spectrometer-is-a-game-changer-for-bgsu-researchers-and-students.html What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The instrument will open up to more users to be trained as well as sample submission by both internal and external users. This will allow more use of the instrument in each of the defined areas of research outlined in our goals as well as impact our educational initiatives through courses that impact both graduate and undergraduate students. Our Mass Spectrometrist (Maowei Dou) will handle scheduling of the instrument through an online calandar to make sure it is utilized as much as possible across BGSU and surrounding colleges such as the University of Findlay.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have procured (January 2024), installed (April-May 2024), and now have running (as of June 2024)the high resolution mass spectrometer from Waters Inc. (Xevo QToF G3) with LCMS and solids analysis probes, including the hiring of a dedicated Mass Spectroscopist to run and care for the instrument. There was some delay with initial training scheduling. We have begun testing of natural toxins and soil hume compounds, however no publications or major results to report as of yet since the instrument has only been in full swing student operation mode for about 1 month now.

Publications