# Directional Ion Mobility Spectrometry of Dipole-Aligned Macromolecules: a New Toolbox for Structural Biology and Top-Down Proteomics

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Wichita State University (KS) · $531,256

## Abstract

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Alexandre Shvartsburg at Wichita State University is developing a novel toolbox for the separation and characterization of macromolecules based on the gas-phase mobilities of aligned ions. For a century since the emergence of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) around 1900, all methods dealt with freely rotating ions. However, most macroions are polar and can align in electric field as a compass aligns with the Earth magnetic field. The transfer of such pendular ions is governed by their projections in given directions, not the average over all orientations normally relevant to IMS. This enables more detailed identification and characterization of ion geometries, in parallel to the police files comprising the face and profile photos of suspects. Such studies further capture the dipole moments also related to the molecular structure. For complex mixture analyses and broad community exploration, these approaches will be coupled to ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) at a major national laboratory. This research is complemented by teaching new specialized courses at selected universities across the US.  

Essentially all macroions have permanent dipole moments. Above a certain threshold, a sufficient electric field overcomes the thermal rotation yielding pendular states with the mobility controlled by the directional cross section across the dipole (CCSDir). Then the field dependen

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2505398
- **Awardee organization:** Wichita State University (KS)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** JKKNZLNYLJ19
- **PI:** Alexandre A Shvartsburg
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES, Biotechnology
- **Estimated total:** $531,256
- **Funds obligated:** $531,256
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2505398

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2505398, Directional Ion Mobility Spectrometry of Dipole-Aligned Macromolecules: a New Toolbox for Structural Biology and Top-Down Proteomics. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2505398. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NSF Awards dataset](/datasets/nsf-awards) · CC0 1.0*