Facilities

The Department is well-equipped for laboratory applications of a wide range of instrumentation techniques. Students are introduced early to the use of chemical instrumentation and analysis of data. Chemistry is a laboratory science and we firmly believe in a hands-on approach which allows students to gain wide knowledge of various methods. We focus on sample preparation, using the instruments, evaluating and reporting of data, and the all-important awareness of the capabilities and limitations of each method. We are equipped for the following methods: (This is a partial list)

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry: (AA) for analysis of trace elements in the environment, foods, materials, forensic samples, archeological samples, etc. Department has a Buck Scientific Accusys 211 and a Perkin-Elmer PE 2380.

Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry: (UV-Vis) for determination of concentrations of organic and inorganic substances in solution. The Department has a Beckmann-Coulter DU800, and a Helios Alpha.

Spectrofluorimetry: for analysis of tiny quantities of organic substances. The Department has a Quantech spectrofluorimeter, as well as a brand new Hitachi F-2500.

Gas-liquid chromatography: (GC) for numerous applications in analysis of small samples for substances present and their concentrations. We have various types of detectors for different tasks, which range from forensic samples to organic mixtures, environmental and food samples, and toxicological samples.

Mass spectrometry: (MS) often coupled with gas chromatography: gives absolute compound identifications and molecular weights. The Department has two (2) HP 6890 GC's, each with an HP 5973 mass spectrometer detector.

Mass spectrometry (Tandem): (MS/MS) The Department has a state of the art Applied Biosystems 3200 Q Trap LC/MS/MS, which separates analytes by liquid chromatography and identifies them by a sequence of two mass spectrometers in a row ("tandem"). Very few colleges or universities have such instruments available for use to undergraduate students - but Cedar Crest College does.

High performance liquid chromatography: (HPLC) for separations and identifications of pharmaceuticals, natural products, food products, etc.

Fourier-transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR): for identifying organic compounds and components in mixtures, including polymers, drug samples, contaminants. The Department has two instruments, the first a Nicolet Impact 410, the second a Nicolet 380 with a Thermo Scientific “Smart Performer” attenuated total reflectance (ATR) attachment.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometry: (NMR) for refined structure determination of organic compounds, and absolute identifications. The Department has an Anasazi 90 MHz spectrometer with multi-nuclear capability.

Voltammetry and polarography: plus other electrochemical techniques for studying electron transfer and oxidation states of substances, and following progress of reaction pathways. The Department has an older Bioanalytical Systems CV-1A cyclic voltammetry instrument with assorted electrodes, plus a brand new Gamry computer-controlled potentiostat. Polarimetry, refractometry: optical methods for many bio-active molecules, including pharmaceuticals, sugars, natural products.

The Department also has extensive technical library holdings, with long hardcopy runs of many major journals (e.g. Journal of the American Chemical Society) and references. Also, the Department has online access to more than 400 journals (all of the ACS journals, and most of the Elsevier journals), and online access to Chemical Abstracts, with in-house computers for data access and analysis.