Christie G. Enke PhD, MS

Christie G. Enke is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at The University of New Mexico. Dr. Enke has disclosed 12 inventions, received seven issued U. S. patents, and has one pending patent application for his mass spectrometry and automated instrumentation technologies.

Dr. Enke’s technologies include one of chemistry’s most widely used techniques—triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. His low-energy, collision-induced dissociation (CID) technique for tandem mass spectrometry, which is used to break ions into smaller ones, led to the development of the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and other tandem-in-space and tandem-in-time techniques. Tandem mass spectrometry is used in many applications requiring the analysis of complex mixtures, such as forensics, proteomics, and pharmaceuticals. Other inventions include the development of a 3-D instrument for simultaneous recording of MS/MS spectra, a new kind of mass spectrometer called distance-of-flight, and a new means to characterize the number and relative abundance of components in complex mixtures.

Dr. Enke’s latest disclosed technology is a program for use within a mass spectrometer’s operating system that would record a sequence of steps selected by the operator, creating a program that would carry out those steps when activated. The program for this new sequence would also be viewable and editable by the operator for modification. Complex instrumentation, such as automated mass spectrometers, have a user interface that allows users to choose among instrument operations offered by the manufacturer but does not allow the user to create their own specialized sequence of operations.

Dr. Enke’s research interests have included electro-analytical chemistry, electrolytic conductance, computer-based instrumentation, array-detector spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, the fundamentals of electrospray ionization, and the theory of complex mixtures.