Michael Barber (chemist)
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Michael Barber | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 3 November 1934 Newton, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 8 May 1991 (aged 56) |
| Other names | Micky |
| Alma mater | Manchester Grammar School, Queen's College, Oxford |
| Known for | Fast atom bombardment |
| Spouse | Joan Barber (m. 1958; died 1991) |
| Children | 3 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry, mass spectrometry |
| Doctoral advisor | John Wilfrid Linnett |
Michael (Mickey[1]) Barber, FRS (3 November 1934 – 8 May 1991) was a British chemist and mass spectrometrist, best known for his invention of fast atom bombardment ionisation.[2][3]
On 3 November 1934, Barber was born at his family's home in Manchester at 166 Lodge Lane in Newton. His family were working-class and underprivileged. Barber was one of two boys; his brother Peter was born in 1927. His father, Joseph Barber, was a carpenter.[4]
He went to Manchester Grammar School[1] and was then educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining his B.A. in 1958 and his B.Sc. in 1959. There he worked with Jack Linnett and they designed and built a mass spectrometer for the analysis of flames. He married Joan Gaskell in 1958, the couple had three children.[4]
In 1961 he returned to Manchester to work at the Scientific Instruments division of Associated Electrical Industries. There, he and Martin Elliott developed a method to study the fragmentation of ions with a mass spectrometer and started to work on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In 1973 he took up a lectureship position at UMIST and was promoted to Professor in 1985. In the same year, 1985, he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He remained at Manchester until his death.[5]
Fast atom bombardment
Fast atom bombardment (FAB) is a method of ionization used in mass spectrometry that uses a beam of high energy atoms strikes a surface to create ions.[6][7][8] An energetic beam of atoms or ions will destroy an organic molecule under conditions typically used to create secondary ions. Barber realised that mixing the compound of interest with a vacuum compatible low-volatility liquid such as glycerol effectively protected the organic molecule and allowed it to be ionized and detected.[3][9] The protecting liquid "matrix" allowed compounds as large as 10,000 Da molecular mass to be detected. The concept of a protecting matrix was later used in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization.[10] The FAB technique was employed by Barber, Howard Morris (biochemist) and co-workers for early peptide sequencing experiments.[6]
