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Welcome

We think of mass spectrometry as the science and technology of ions. Our interests therefore involve construction of mass spectrometers, fundamental studies of ion reactions and collision processes and applications to medicine, biochemistry and organic chemistry. A central current interest is in ambient ionization and its application in imaging tumor margins, monitoring therapeutic drugs in biofluids, following embryological development, and identifying microorganisms. Each of these experiments involves minimal sample workup. Another strong interest is in preparative mass spectrometry, both by soft landing ions onto surfaces in vacuum to generate new materials and also by collecting the products of solution-phase reactions occurring in electrospray droplets. In situ analysis using miniature mass spectrometers coupled to ambient ion sources for environmental, public safety and other applications is of interest. So, too, is on-line reaction monitoring. Ion chemistry is astonishingly rich as exemplified by nitrogen atom insertion into n-alkanes, chirally selective amino acid clustering and C-C bond formation, all being studied at atmospheric pressure.




Latest News

Prof. R. Graham Cooks was announced as the 2013 winner of the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences. The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences is awarded to an individual in a selected area of chemistry to recognize exceptional and original research that has advanced the field in a major way. Cooks was nominated for his impact in mass spectrometry and instrumentation development, which he has conducted in the Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry since 1976."I am particularly pleased by the fact that the Foundation chose Chemical Instrumentation as the topic of the prize," Cooks stated, "because it is an emphatic recognition of the importance of instrumentation in the chemical enterprise. This has been one focus of the chemistry research effort at Purdue for some 50 years, so the 2013 Prize is a recognition of the subject and the institution, more than an individual." more information
The American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized the R. B. Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry as a National Historic Chemical Landmark on Friday, April 26, 2013. Named after local physician and lecturer Dr. Richard Benbridge Wetherill, the building was constructed in phases between 1928 and 1955 to accommodate a growing Department of Chemistry. The building has served as a center for chemical education and research in the United States for more than 80 years. Advances made in the building include developments in vapor-phase nitration of saturated hydrocarbons, palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling, tandem mass spectrometry, and the discovery of hydroboration and its application to numerous synthetic pathways.more information
CNN_CSI_DESI Video
ScienceLives article: The Man Behind the Technology of "CSI" R. Graham Cooks, Purdue University's Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry, has made mass spectrometry appeal to mass audiences with technology featured on the hit series "CSI." Mass spectrometry turns molecules into ions so their mass can be analyzed, and traditionally requires chemical separations, manipulations of samples and containment in a vacuum chamber. Cooks developed a desorption electrospray ionization technique, called DESI, that performs the ionization step in the air or directly on surfaces, making it much faster and more portable.


Latest Publications

Developmental Phases in Individual Mouse Preimplantation Embryos Characterized by Lipid Signatures in Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Christina R. Ferreira, Valentina Pirro, Livia S. Eberlin, Judy E. Hallett, R. Graham Cooks, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2012, 404, 2915-2926. doi: 10.1007/s00216-012-6426-4
Low-Energy Ionic Collisions at Molecular Solids Jobin Cyriac, T. Pradeep, H. Kang, R. Souda, and R. G. Cooks, Chemical Reviews, 2012, 112, 5356–5411. doi: 10.1021/cr200384k

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On the Cover

Below you will find some of our recent cover pages and publications. An RSS feed is also available, featuring our most recent publications. RSS logo
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