Michael van Stipdonk

Undergraduate and graduate students in the van Stipdonk research group use ion trap mass spectrometry, spectroscopy and theory to study a variety of chemical processes in the gas-phase. As summarized below, our current research projects can be grouped into three general areas: (a) fundamental studies of peptide ion dissociation to support application of tandem mass spectrometry (tandem MS) to peptide and protein identification in proteomics; (b) studies of the intrinsic stability and reactivity of metal ion complexes important to biology, energy production and the environment, and (c) vibrational spectroscopy of gas-phase ions using wavelength-selective infrared multiple-photon photodissociation. Besides extensive use of mass spectrometry and tandem MS, work in our laboratory involves the synthesis of model molecules and peptides, including those with isotope labels, and use of density functional theory (DFT) to predict ion structures, energies and vibrational spectra. Our work on tandem MS and peptide dissociation has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Studies of intrinsic metal ion chemistry have been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Idaho National Laboratory. Work on ion spectroscopy is supported in part by the NSF, the Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen; and the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek.