LTQ Liberated From The (Dead) Elite

One of our post docs who is a very competent instrument designer wants to fire a laser into an outrageously expensive bit of kit. The Principal Investigator is understandably dubious. Then a few months ago, the C-trap on the the Orbitrap Elite failed and needed replacement that essentially doomed the beast to the skip. I told him we had a proof-of-principal toy to play with and started extricating the working- from non-working-bits.

I disconnected the Linear Ion Trap (the LTQ) from the electronics that couple it to the Orbitrap and reinstalled the software so that I could use it as a stand alone ion trap mass spectrometer and everything worked. I needed to pump down the Orbi chamber because it is all one vacuum system as supplied, but that was the only connection to the old instrument of any sort.

I brought this up to contacts at Thermo (the manufacturer) and our service vendor all of whom told me you can’t use the LTQ separate from the Orbitrap because it is tied to the Orbitrap and simply won’t work as a stand alone instrument. Fucking liars.

The absolute hardest part of this endeavour was releasing it from the other instrument. Not because it is tied by electronics or software (which, as I mentioned, it isn’t despite the claims of the ‘owners’ of the technology) but because there are four hidden bolts holding it to two hidden rails. They require a 17mm socket and an extender and a little less torque than it takes to open a bottle of catsup.

The other required part for us to prove to the P.I. that it will work on the more expensive instrument (besides the laser which was harvested from a derelict LTQ-FTICR about 10 years ago) is a flange for the back of the LTQ that will have a hole for an infrared compatible window cut into it. That is now in the work shop but in the meantime I’ve just held a piece of sheet metal over the opening and against the Viton o-ring and found that despite my abuse it remains fully functional and surprisingly still within calibration specs.

Fuck Thermo.

Rail Run #72: to Erdington

I don’t mind the heat but the direct sunlight of the next few days is probably dangerous to my pale and prone-to-basal-cell-carcinomas skin. So, I’m doing my runs in the morning, for the most part.

Erdington Station was still on the list and from there it is a non-stop ride to University Station, so I headed out after breakfast to find my way there. Near my destination (the station, not work), I spotted a pub that reminded me more of work (not the station). A RED ion could carry a -1 or -2 charge state due to the acidic residues (E and/or D) but arginine (R) is quite basic and, at the N-terminus, is just as likely to be protonated. So, I calculate that RED+H⁺ = 419.1884. I need a vacation.

All that notwithstanding, the weather is lovely right now.

Week 52: A short one and out

With only 5 days left in the year, week 52 was a short one. Here’s my final thoughts on the final week.

Fines and fees: £86.50, and a more complete, annual analysis will follow, soon.

EO Wilson and Fred McLafferty, two giants in the sciences, died this week. I met Wilson at UGA at a ceremony celebrating Eugene Odom in the mid-1990s (Prof Odom gave me some good advice about my first PhD in Environmental Engineering which directly impacted my seeking a PhD in Chemistry). Fred was my academic grandfather in Chemistry (one of his endless brood of former PhD students became my PhD advisor), and the only reason I am not a disappointment to him is probably the fact that he never remembered I existed more than 10 seconds after each of our encounters. RIP.

The year, a.d. 2021, died Friday midnight, as well. Rot in Hell.

Going into 2022 trying to yoga my way out of a serious, recurring calf strain. Too old to run? Closer to 60th birthday than the 59th, now. Bleak prospects for improvement. Happy New Year.

And, Friday was our 36th anniversary. So, the week wasn’t all bad.

2020 Commute 69 of 52 (From): Sunday “Cleaning The Old Beamline”

Post 69 of the 2020 Cummute Commute Effort deserves a smattering of juvenile innuendo.

I went into work because something that needed to be done Monday interfered with my cement mixer delivery.  So, I went in.

Mostly, it involve cleaning some really sensitive electronics in one of the mass specs.  The worst part was getting to the parts in question, but the cleaning, once you get there, is dead simple…time consuming but runs without your attention.  If someone were to come along (impossible, as the building is closed save for 6 key workers and a few of our supervisors) and ask what I’m doing, I could accurately say FTD.  Much, as it turns out, like I’m doing with this post.

7.7 miles, overland mostly but some canal and tram path.