Supervisors:

Leszek Frasinski
Jon Marangos

QUANTUM CONTROL AND MULTI-DIMENSIONAL LASER-INDUCED MASS SPECTROMETRY OF BIOMOLECULES
Mass spectrometry (MS) is a leading technique for generating detailed information on molecular structure. It is particularly useful for understanding the structure of biological molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, which can lead to the elucidation of their function in living organisms. We aim to develop a novel two-dimensional laser-induced MS to obtain a new kind of structural information through optimised laser-controlled molecular decomposition. Specifically, we are implementing femtosecond laser-induced ionisation/dissociation, where the optimal ultrashort pulses applied to fragment the molecules will be able to cause dissociation before the molecules have time for internal energy redistribution, and so will cause chemically non-traditional fragmentation patterns. These fragmentations will then be interpreted and utilised through the 2D MS approach. We will endeavour to use this new technique to explore the potential of closed loop quantum control in analytical MS and to study quantum effects in the fragmentation of biomolecules caused by ionising radiation.