Abstract
Electrospray ionization has revolutionized the application of mass spectrometry towards the analysis of large molecules.  The multiple charging observed for large molecules has key advantages in analysis, including enhancing mass measuring accuracy (sub ppm), sensitivity (sub attomole) and improving tandem mass spectrometry for structural elucidation and molecular identification.  Despite its widespread use, many mysteries about the electrospray process remain.  In addition, new applications, such as examining the chemistry of ions in nanodroplets remain largely unexplored.  This talk will examine how ions are formed by electrospray ionization and how the charge state distribution of an ion can be manipulated to our advantage.  It will also examine how some aspects of conformational structure of large molecules can be preserved in the electrospray ionization process.  Finally, the chemistry of molecules in nanodroplets will be discussed.  Nanodroplets offer a unique path in which the gas-phase and solution-phase chemistries can be bridged.  For example, how many water molecules are required to change the preferred structure of an amino acid in the gas phase (nonzwitterion) to its structure in bulk solution (zwitterion)?  These and other questions will be addressed.

Background
Dr. Evan Williams is a Professor of Chemistry and Biophysics at UC Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry with Fred McLafferty at Cornell University, and was a NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. His current research interests include developing novel instrumental and computational MS and laser techniques for probing structure and function of large biomolecules, applications of new dissociation methods for rapid protein and DNA sequencing, ion-molecule chemistry for investigating electrostatic interactions in biomolecules, and developing novel sample introduction techniques for interfacing liquid separation methods with MS.

Meeting details

Date:	Thursday	February 21, 2002
Time:	6:00 pm	Social hour, registration (no-host cocktails)
	7:00 pm	Dinner
	8:00 pm	Lecture
Dinner:	Choice of:	Vegetarian Pasta
		Salmon with Champagne Sauce
		Veal Roast
	includes	(various side dishes & dessert)
Cost:	$25.00	BAMS members.  Reservations required by noon on Friday  February 15, 2002
	$35.00	Non-members.  Reservations required by noon on Friday  February 15, 2002
	$15.00	Students only.  Reservations required by noon on Friday  February 15, 2002

Note: 2002 dues need to be paid to obtain member price.  Dues ($20) may be paid while registering for dinner.

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The Basque Cultural Center
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South San Francisco, CA 94080
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The San Francisco Bay Area Mass Spectrometry discussion group was formed in 1980 to provide a regular gathering for people interested in mass spectrometry and allied topics. BAMS currently has a membership of about 280 individual and 20 corporate members, and meets 8-10 times per year for a midweek dinner and lecture.  Meetings attract between 30 and 90 people, and are held at a restaurant or hotel in the bay area convenient for our speaker.  We usually convene at 6:00pm for cocktails, dinner at 7:00pm, and lecture at 8:15pm.

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Last update: 2/7/02.