Resources & Materials for Grant Proposals

ARC Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources (updated January 2021)

Mass Spectrometry

  1. GC/MS – Agilent 5973N Mass Selective Detector interfaced to a 6890 gas chromatograph which is equipped with a 7683 automatic liquid sampler with EI source.
  2. GC/MS – Thermo Scientific ISQ QD single quadrupole GC-MS with Trace 1310 GC and with automatic liquid sampler.
  3. GC/MSMS – Thermo Scientific TSQ 8000 Evo Triple Quadrupole GC-MS/MS, equipped with Triplus RSH autosampler and EI and CI (methane) sources.
  4. MARKES Thermal desorption Unity-xr with Ultra-xr (100 sorbent tubes) autosampler. Interfaced to Thermo ISQ QD GC single quadrupole mass spectrometer.
  5. Thermo-Finnigan LTQ LC/MSMS linear Ion-trap mass spectrometer with ESI source.
  6. Bruker maXis Plus ultra-high-resolution quadrupole time of flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer with Waters Acquity H-class UPLC. Equipped with Bruker ESI and APCI sources.
  7. Bruker Daltonics MALDI-TOF Microflex LRF mass spectrometer (with FlexAnalysis/ Biotools software)
  8. LC/TOF-MS (accurate mass) Agilent 6224 walk-up time-of-flight mass spectrometer (WTOF) interfaced to an Agilent 1200 HPLC with electrospray and multi-mode (ESI/APCI) sources, and an IonSense Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) ambient ionization source.
  9. LC/TOF-MS (accurate mass) Agilent 6230 Agilent time-of-flight mass spectrometer (BTOF) interfaced to an Agilent 1290 Infinity UHPLC with electrospray and multi-mode (ESI/APCI) sources.
  10. LC/QTOF-MSMS (accurate mass) Agilent 6510 quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (QTOF) interfaced to an Agilent 1200 HPLC with electrospray and multi-mode (ESI/APCI) sources
  11. Waters Xevo UPLC-MSMS triple quadrupole with Waters Acquity H-class UPLC, with ESI ionization.
  12. Waters Acquity UPLC with PDA detector.

NMR/EPR Spectroscopy

  1. Agilent (Varian) 400MR: Equipped with Automated Tuning and a 7620 96-slot Sample Changer.
  2. Bruker US400: Equipped with BBFO SMART Probe and SampleCase.
  3. Bruker NEO400: Equipped with a Prodigy BBFO Cryo-Probe and SampleCase.
  4. Bruker Ascend 400: Equipped with BBFO smart probe, sample case, and extended range VT.
  5. Agilent Inova 500: With three channels, 3-axis gradients and many other accessories including HCN, broadband probes and a NANO (HRMAS) probe.
  6. Agilent Inova 600: With four channels, 2H decoupling, 3-axis gradients and many other accessories including HCN and a flow-probe.
  7. Bruker ELEXSYS E500 X‐Band CW EPR Spectrometer System with Bruker cold edge and cryostat. Dual band and high sensitivity probe options are available.
  8. Bruker EMX X-band EPR Spectrometer System.
  9. Spare Parts Store (working): Three Inova Consoles, Two Mercury Plus Consoles, one mothballed narrow bore (NB) self-shielding Magnex US400 magnet and accessories, two de-energized NB 300 oxford magnets, Magnex Charging Kit, Stainless hydraulic solenoid lift kit, Variety of Varian solution probes, one 3.2mm Varian 400 MHz CPMAS probe.

Spectroscopy

  1. Nicolet iS-50 FT-IR spectrometer with a single pass diamond ATR-ZnSe also a high index of refraction Ge crystal for thin films, powders and liquids; Harrick Grazing Angle Reflectance Accessory for thin films on metal or semiconductor substrates; Gemini Diffuse Reflectance Accessory for non-reflecting powder materials.
  2. Agilent (Cary) UV-Vis-NIR equipped with VASRA or Variable Angle Specular Reflectance Accessory that is used with thin films at angles from 20 to 70 degrees; Praying Mantis diffuse reflection analysis of solids and powders.
  3. Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS with 633nm ‘red’ laser for size measurement of particles and molecules (e.g. proteins) dispersed in a liquid (using dynamic light scattering, DLS); zeta-potential of colloids and nano particles for predicting dispersion stability (using electrophoretic light scattering); and the measurement of microrheology of protein and polymer solutions. The high performance of this instrument also enables the measurement of molecular weight of macromolecules.
  4. Edinburgh FS5 spectrofluorometer for steady state (150 W xenon lamp) and time-resolved fluorescence emission measurements in the 230-870 nm spectral range. Fluorescence lifetime capability (TCSPC – Time Correlated Single Photon Counting) with EPLED 320nm, 365nm, 450nm, and 650nm LEDs, and EPL 510nm pulsed diode laser). Temperature controlled sample holder and solid sample holder. Integrating sphere for quantum yield measurements.

Magnetic and Physical Properties

  1. Quantum Design PPMS – 9T, DC Resistivity, Electrical Transport, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), Thermal Transport, Heat Capacity, Horizontal Rotator, Multi-Function Probe, VT from 1.8 K to 1000 K
  2. Quantum Design MPMS3 – 7T, DC Resistivity, SQUID, AC, Electrical Transport, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), Thermal Transport, Heat Capacity, Horizontal Rotator, Multi-Function Probe, VT from 1.8 K to 1000 K.
  3. Quantum Design Dilution Refrigerator Probe, VT to 50mK (Prof. Kate Ross, Physics)
  4. Quantum Design iQuantum Helium-3 Insert, VT to 500 mK (Prof. Kate Ross, Physics)

Thermal Analysis

  1. TA Modulated DSC 2500 with sub-ambient accessory and multi-position sample holder.
  2. TA TGA Q500 Thermogravimetric analyzer measures thermal stability, multi position sample holder for measurements from ambient up to 900ºC.

X-ray Science

  1. Bruker D8 Discover Series II Diffractometer with Parabolic Göbel mirror for parallel and monochromatic beam, ¼-circle Eulerian cradle, Equipped with 4-Bounce monochromator capable of HRXRD, XRR and GAXRD.
  2. Bruker D8 Discover – DAVINCI with Flip-Stick sample stage, Lynx-Eye Detector, Diffrac.EVA, TOPAS and other software for powder XRD, adaptable for VT experiments with Anton Parr HTK1200N stage.
  3. Bruker D8 Discover Series II – theta-theta mode, Göbel mirror or Bragg, Cu radiation, Lynx-Eye detector upgrade
  4. Bruker APEXII single-crystal diffraction system.
  5. Rigaku Small Angle X-ray Scattering with Cu rotating anode and MicroMax-007HF
  6. Bruker D8 Quest Single Crystal XRD with fixed CHI, Photon 50, sealed Mo tube, Triumph monochromator and motorized track.

Helium Recovery

  1. Quantum Design ATP30 Helium Purifier and ATL160 Helium Liquifier – high pressure recovery system, auxiliary storage components provide for approximately 25 liter per day of liquid.

Major equipment

  1. Thermo-Finnigan Orbitrap Velos with a Waters nanoAcquity UPLC system (controlled by a Dell PC and Xcalibur/Bioworks software)
  2. Waters Synapt G2-Si Ion Mobility enabled Q-TOF mass spectrometer with a capillary Waters Aquity UPLC and nanoAcquity UPLC unit (controlled by a Lenovo PC and MassLynx software);
  3. Waters Xevo G2 ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometer with a capillary Waters Aquity UPLC unit and an Agilent GC coupled using an atmostpheric pressure (APGC) ionization source. (controlled by an HP PC and MassLynx software)
  4. Waters Xevo G2 XS ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometer with a capillary Waters Aquity UPLC unit (controlled by a Lenovo PC and MassLynx software)
  5. Perkin Elmer ELAN DRC ICP-MS (controlled by a Lenovo PC running Syngistix software)
  6. Two Waters Xevo TQ-S mass spectrometers with Waters Acquity or nanoAcquity UPLC units (controlled by a Dell PC and MassLynx software)
  7. Two Thermo Scientific Trace ISQ GC-MS instruments (controlled by Dell PCs running Chromeleon software), one of which is serviced by a headspace/SPME/ITEX capable autosampler and an olfactory port for sensory evaluations

Other smaller equipment

One dimensional agarose and SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis apparatus; seven chemical fume hoods; incubators ; Two Savant Speed Vac systems with refrigerated vapor trap; refrigerated bucket centrifuge and microfuge, room temperature microfuge, standalone Gerstel sample preparation robot with mVorx vortex unit and SPE prep station, Lyophilization unit, Three nitrogen evaporators, Probe Sonicator, 2 bath sonicators, UV/Vis spectrophotometer, microplate reader; 4 -80C freezers; 3 -20C freezers and several refrigerators.

Electron Microscopy

  1. JEOL JSM-6500F field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) with EDAX an Oxford SDD EDS detector and EDAX EBSD cameras, a Nabity e-beam Lithography and JEOL STEM-in-SEM holder.
  2. JEOL JEM-2100F transmission electron microscope (TEM) with UHR pole piece, with STEM capability and Gatan CCD camera equipped with an Oxford SDD EDS detector.
  3. JEOL JEM-1400 transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with several different specimen holders (a single specimen holder, ±26°; a high tilt specimen holder, ±70°; a Fischione dual axis Tomography holder, ±70°; and a Gatan liquid nitrogen-cooled specimen holder, ±70°), an Orius fastscan digital camera, and a Gatan Ultrascan high-resolution digital camera. Direct magnification range on this TEM is between 50x and 1,200,000x.
  4. JOEL JEM-2000 EX-II transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with a ±60° tilting (goniometer) stage, operates at accelerating voltages from 80kV to 200kV, and has a magnification range from 50x to 500,000x. It is capable of selected area diffraction from 100 to 2,500mm. Two specimens can be loaded simultaneously. Images are currently captured on film.

Optical Microscopy

  1. Bruker BioScope Resolve atomic force microscope (AFM) integrated with the Nikon Eclipse Ti-E confocal microscope.

The AFM, designed for integration with inverted light microscopes, is configured to provide the industry standard highest resolution imaging in both air and fluid samples in contact mode, tapping mode, and Bruker’s unique PeakForce Tapping mode. The cantilever deflection is detected with an IR (850 nm) laser to prevent interference with optical imaging modes. Air and fluid cantilever holders are included. Standard magnetic sample clamps for slides, coverslips, petri dishes, and contact and tapping mode tips are also included for calibration and training.

The inverted Nikon Eclipse Ti-E confocal microscope is equipped with extra fine/fine/coarse focusing drive, motorized nosepiece, motorized filter cube turret, motorized x,y stage, DIC components, CFI plan apochromat lambda 10x, 20x, 40x, and 100x oil immersion objectives. LUNV monolithic laser combiner with and acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) with 20 mW 405 nm, 70 mW 488 nm, 70 mW 561 nm, and 40 mW 640 nm lines. The system includes a Perfect Focus System (PFS) to compensate for sample drift in real time.

  1. Olympus FV1000 laser-scanning confocal microscope with widefield fluorescence visualization, brightfield and differential interference contrast. Four channel spectral and filter-based confocal scanning includes a transmitted light channel for DIC. Objectives on this system are 10X, 20X, 40X, and 100X. This instrument also has a second set of galvanometer mirrors allowing simultaneous photo-activation/stimulation/bleaching during imaging experiments. The second scan unit allows activation and depletion of fluorescent probes for analysis of temporal and spatial activity in live samples. A spectral detector based PMT system allows for specific bandwidth selection in co-localization experiments plus spectral scanning and separation of overlapping fluorophores. The FV1000 also has a motorized, programmable stage that can be used for multipoint time-lapse and mosaic imaging. The four lasers with AOTF control allow six different wavelengths to be selected: 405 nm, 457 nm, 488 nm, 514 nm, 559 nm and 635 nm. Other features include multimode imaging in six dimensions including: XYZ, time, wavelength, mosaic scanning, and multipoint high content imaging. Fluorescence Recovery after Photobleaching (FRAP) and Photoactivation (PA) is facilitated by the easy software wizard with any laser line. The system also includes co-localization software module for complete analysis including scattergrams and statistical data ready for easy export.
  2. Zeiss LSM 980 laser-scanning confocal microscope. This microscope has been purchased and will be installed in early 2021.

Surface Analysis

  1. PE-5800 X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), also known as Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) with Scanning Auger Microscopy, sputter depth profiling and Ultraviolet photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS).
  2. Bruker DektakXT Contact Profilometer
  3. Woolam VASE or Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometer, with 250-1700nm spectral range- used to measure the thickness, refractive index and other optical properties of thin films and multi-layer films.
  4. Kruss DSA10 Drop Shape Analyzer Contact Angle Goniometer (CAG)

Sample Preparation

  1. Denton Vacuum Desk II Gold Sputter Coater. Gold sputtering is possible with thicknesses ranging from approximately 5 nm to 50 nm in 5 nm increments.
  2. Carbon Coater. Samples may be coated by evaporating carbon, with thickness ranging from 10 to 200 nm.
  3. Pace Technologies PICO 155P Precision Cutter. Variable speed precision wafering saw for sectioning materials with extreme accuracy. The saw is useful for sectioning a variety of materials including metals, ceramics, and electronics.
  4. Pace Technologies NANO 2000T Grinder-Polisher. Variable speed double wheel grinder-polisher with 8-10 in. wheels for different combinations of materials and polishing compounds.
  5. Pace Technologies Giga-0900 Vibratory Polisher. With adjustable vibration frequency and voltage, the speed of polishing action can be controlled, allowing for large and small samples to be prepared separately or simultaneously.

Turbo pumped plasma cleaner specifically for electron microscope sample holders and some selective samples. Used to remove hydrocarbon surfaces and to modify TEM substrate surfaces. Oxygen and Argon gases are available.