{"285721":{"#nid":"285721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robotic Arm Probes Chemistry of 3-D Objects by Mass Spectrometry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen life on Earth was first getting started, simple molecules bonded together into the precursors of modern genetic material. A catalyst would have been needed, but enzymes had not yet evolved. One theory is that the catalytic minerals on a meteorite\u2019s surface could have jump-started life\u2019s first chemical reactions. But scientists need a way to directly analyze these rough, irregularly shaped surfaces. A new robotic system at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/centerforchemicalevolution.com\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Chemical Evolution\u003C\/a\u003E could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks to further test this theory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a proof-of-concept study, scientists selected a region for analysis on round or irregularly-shaped objects using a 3-D camera on a robotic arm, which mapped the 3-dimentional coordinates of the sample\u2019s surface. The scientists programmed the robotic arm to poke the sample with an acupuncture needle. The needle collected a small amount of material that the robot deposited in a nearby mass spectrometer, which is a powerful tool for determining a substance\u2019s chemical composition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou see the object on a monitor and then you can point and click and take a sample from a particular spot and the robot will go there,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/fernandez\/\u0022\u003EFacundo Fernandez\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, whose lab led the study. \u201cWe\u2019re using an acupuncture needle that will touch very carefully on the surface of the object and then the robot will turn around and put the material inside of a high resolution mass spectrometer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was published online February 28 in the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/Content\/ArticleLanding\/2014\/AN\/C4AN00277F#!divAbstract\u0022\u003EAnalyst\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry. The research will be featured on the cover of an upcoming print issue. The work was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) grant and by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA Astrobiology Program, under the NSF Center for Chemical Evolution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMass spectrometry is a powerful tool for analyzing surface chemistry or for identifying biological samples. It\u2019s widely used in research labs across many disciplines, but samples for analysis typically have to be cleaned, carefully prepared, and in the case of rocks, cut into thin, flat samples. The new robotic system is the first report of a 3-D mass spectrometry native surface imaging experiment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOther people have used an acupuncture needle to poke a sample and then put that in mass spec, but nobody has tried to do a systematic, three-dimensional surface experiment,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cWe are trying to push the limits.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo show that the system was capable of probing a three-dimensional object, the researchers imprinted ink patterns on the surfaces of polystyrene spheres. The team then used the robotic arm to model the surfaces, probe specific regions, and see if samples collected were sufficient for mass spectrometry analysis. The researchers were able to detect inks of different colors and create a 3-D image of the object with sufficient sensitivity for their proof-of-principle setup, Fernandez said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was the result of collaboration between Fernandez\u2019s group, which specializes in mass spectrometry, and Henrik Christensen\u2019s robotics group in the College of Computing. Christensen is the KUKA Chair of Robotics and a Distinguished Professor of Computing. He is also the executive director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM) at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe initial findings of this study mark a significant step toward using robots for three-dimensional surface experiments on geological material,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cWe are using the repeatability and accuracy of robots to achieve new capabilities that have numerous applications in biomedical areas such as dermatology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen very often that a group in mass spectrometry will have a very talented robotics group next to them,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cIf we tried to learn the robotics on our own it could take us a decade, but for them it\u2019s something that\u2019s not that difficult.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChristensen\u2019s team loaned a Kuka KR5 sixx R650 robot to Fernandez\u2019s lab for the study. Afterwards, Fernandez\u2019s lab purchased their own robot from Universal Robots. They have also upgraded to a new mass spectrometer capable of resolution nearly eight times higher than the one used in the study. They will soon begin replicating early Earth chemistry on rocks and analyzing the reaction products with their robotic sampling system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe really want to look at rocks,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cWe want to do reactions on rocks and granites and meteorites and then see what can be produced on the surface.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology could also be applied to other research fields, Fernandez said. For example, the robot-mass spec combo might be useful to dermatologists who often probe lesions on the skin, which have distinct molecular signatures depending on if the lesion is a tumor or normal skin tissue.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) (Grant number 0923179), and by the NSF and NASA Astrobiology Program under the NSF Center for Chemical Evolution (CHE-1004579). Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rachel V. Bennett, et al., \u201cRobotic Plasma Probe Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RoPPI-MS) of Non-Planar Surfaces.\u201d (Analyst, February 2014) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1039\/c4an00277f\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1039\/c4an00277f \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Proof-of-concept study could soon allow analysis of early earth chemistry on meteorites and other rocks"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen life on Earth was first getting started, simple molecules bonded together into the precursors of modern genetic material. A catalyst would have been needed, but enzymes had not yet evolved. One theory is that the catalytic minerals on a meteorite\u2019s surface could have jump-started life\u2019s first chemical reactions. But scientists need a way to directly analyze these rough, irregularly shaped surfaces. A new robotic system at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/centerforchemicalevolution.com\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Chemical Evolution\u003C\/a\u003E could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks to further test this theory.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new robotic system at Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Chemical Evolution could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-03-25 17:16:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:07","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"285711":{"id":"285711","type":"image","title":"Acupuncture needle probe for mass spectrometry","body":null,"created":"1449244237","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:37","changed":"1475894981","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:41","alt":"Acupuncture needle probe for mass spectrometry","file":{"fid":"199072","name":"fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":224797,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1_0.jpg?itok=g2FhJY0K"}},"285701":{"id":"285701","type":"image","title":"3-D mass spectrometry","body":null,"created":"1449244237","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:37","changed":"1475894978","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:38","alt":"3-D mass spectrometry","file":{"fid":"199071","name":"fernandez-bennett.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-bennett_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-bennett_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":186317,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fernandez-bennett_0.jpg?itok=v3aVD4eq"}}},"media_ids":["285711","285701"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"89971","name":"chemical evolution"},{"id":"17301","name":"Facundo Fernandez"},{"id":"3158","name":"Mass spectrometry"},{"id":"9854","name":"Origin Of Life"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}