Carlos Larriba Andaluz
Purdue University, IN·Chemistry
Molecules that share the same mass but differ in shape, called isomers, can behave very differently, yet many measurement tools cannot tell them apart. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) separates charged molecules (ions) in a gas by how fast they drift through it under an electric field, which depends on their shape and size.
- Fields
Chemistry
Physics
Engineering
- Topics
ion mobility spectrometry
mass spectrometry
isomer separation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, last ended Sep 2026
What they work on
- Develop higher-order ion mobility approximations using two-temperature theory, then add ion energy calculations and inelastic collision effects to explain how ion mobility spectrometry separates isomers.
- Model ion mobility and energy balance with an in-house molecular dynamics–Monte Carlo hybrid code to track energy exchange between an ion's motion and its internal rotation and vibration.
- Compare theoretical and simulated predictions with experiments at varying electric fields and temperatures to estimate how much inelastic collisions contribute to separating isomers, isotopologues and isotopomers.
More about the research
Often paired with mass spectrometry, IMS has become sensitive enough to separate isomers and even molecules that differ only in which isotopes they contain or where those isotopes sit. Existing theory cannot explain these separations. Understanding them matters for analytical chemistry, aerosol science and plasma physics.
Why it matters
Telling apart molecules that differ only slightly in shape or isotope makeup is important because small structural changes can greatly alter chemical and physical properties. A theory that explains how ion mobility spectrometry achieves these separations could help chemists interpret measurements and make better use of IMS with mass spectrometry. It could also inform related problems in aerosol science and plasma physics.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Ahmed Hamid
Auburn University, AL·Chemistry
Identify molecular biomarkers associated with foodborne diseases and Alzheimer's disease that can be detected in clinical samples by high-resolution ion mobility separation.
Francisco Fernandez-Lima
Florida International University, FL·Chemistry
Develop mass spectrometry workflows that combine solution labeling, trapped ion mobility spectrometry (which separates ions by shape) and electron- or UV-based fragmentation to study biomolecular complexes near their native state.
Varun Gadkari
University of Minnesota, MN·Biophysics
Map how antibody sequence, glycosylation (attached sugar chains), and aggregation govern stability using native and ion mobility-mass spectrometry, and link these structural features to changes in antigen binding.
The school
Purdue University: 43 labs on PI Pages, $932M a year on research, 833 research doctorates a year.
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