In addition to the instrumentation, we provide supplies that are sensible for us to provide – e.g., gases for various instruments, consumables that are considered part of instrument maintenance, and so forth. There are things that you will need to bring with you for use of the instruments (including training) and we have endeavored to list these here by instrument or instrument group.
Thermo iS50 FTIR: we try to keep a wash bottle of acetone and a box of Kimwipes by the instrument and a suitable sample spatula in the drawer below (as well as samples holders for solid samples and salt plates for anyone wishing to use the main sample compartment). In addition to these, you should consider the following:
- If you are using the ATR and have samples that do not clean up well with acetone, you may need to bring your own bottle of cleaning solvent. Check with the lab director to make sure the solvent you wish to use is compatible with the instrument.
- If you wish to do transmission-mode experiments in the main sample compartment (fairly rare these days) you will need to provide your own optical grade KBr (or polyethylene for far IR) for sample prep. Sample prep for this usually is done using an agate mortar and pestle, which you would need to provide (we do keep a ceramic one in the drawer under the press). Due to misuse and disuse/lack of need, our hydraulic press may not be in service, so you may wish to press samples in your own lab.
Cary 50/Cary 5000/Edinburgh FS5:
- You must provide your own cuvettes. Note that the choice of plastic vs glass vs quartz is consequential in terms of the wavelength range which can be accessed. Also note that for the FS5 fluorescence spectrometer, the cuvettes you bring must be transparent on all four sides – if you try to use a cuvette with two sides frosted, you will only be frustrated.
- If you are analyzing liquid samples, you will need to provide your own pipettes and tips or bulb, wash bottle of appropriate solvent, container for used solvent & samples, etc. If you are analyzing solid samples, you will need your own spatula or tweezers (depending on the nature of your sample) as well as a receptacle for used samples (if needed).
Spinsolve benchtop NMR: bring your samples to the lab in standard (5mm diameter, 7 inch long) NMR sample tubes that you provide. Attach nothing to the tube but its lid – anything else will prevent the tube from properly being seated in the sample holder. If you aren’t using TMS you will need to have some other sample with which you can calibrate the shift axis.
Q500 TGA: users must provide their own sample pans. We try to keep a spatula and a pair of tweezers at the instrument for handling pans and samples, but sometimes they wander away so you might wish to bring a suitable spatula and pair of tweezers. We do have a torch in the prep area so that sample pans can be flamed, as well as a beaker which can be filled with di water for quenching of heated pans.
Q2000 DSC: users must provide their own sample pans. We have the sealing/crimping device which can be used with standard and hermetic pans.
QP-2020 GCMS: in general, the only supplies you will need to provide for GCMS work are samples prepared in your own vials.
- For liquid injections, you should prepare your sample in standard autosampler vials. We recommend 12x32mm wide-mouth vials (in clear or amber as you wish) with a white write-on patch and a plastic screw-on cap with a silicone/PTFE septum; these hold about 1.8mL (for very small sample volumes you may need to use a vial insert). Wide mouth vials are more forgiving in case the calibration of the autosampler strays; the write-on patch is helpful because sticking a label on your vial may make it too wide to fit in the sample tray (and tags on strings get messy); and the plastic cap is crucial because a metal cap may lead to the vial being picked up by the magnet on the autosampler’s robotic tool, and bad things can happen. (If you use a 12×32 vial with a metal cap and damage results, you may be billed for replacement parts such as an autosampler syringe.) Samples for liquid injection must be clear and free of particulate or suspended matter.
- For headspace and SPME analyses, your samples should be prepared in 20mL 75.5×22.5mm screw-cap vials; in this case the vials must have a metal cap that can be picked up by the robotic tool so that the vial can be transferred to the agitator/incubator. Silicone/PTFE septa are best. Get vials with the write-on patch; do not apply any label or tag to the vials – otherwise they might get stuck in the agitator.
- If you are planning to do SPME, expect to provide your own SPME fiber.
Thermo Vanquish HPLC: you will need to provide your own column, samples prepared in vials that you provide, and eluents.
- Most HPLC columns will accommodate the fittings in our HPLC, but apparently columns from Waters have a different port geometry and will damage the fittings; if you wish to use a Waters column or any other column with Waters-style ports, you will need to provide adapters. Columns longer than 150mm may require installation assistance from lab staff.
- Samples should be prepared in standard 12x32mm wide-mouth vials with a write on patch so that there is no need for additional labeling or tagging. Plastic screw-on caps with silicone/PTFE septa are recommended. If your sample volume is small, you may need to use a vial insert.
- This HPLC is set up for reversed-phase work; the eluents you bring may contain water, methanol, acetonitrile, ethanol, or isopropanol in any proportion that your column can tolerate. Mobile phase modifiers including acetic acid, formic acid, ammonium acetate, ammonium formate, and ammonium hydroxide (all typically at 0.1% or lower concentration) can be used without further approval. We do have an online vacuum degasser but recommend that solvents still be degassed prior to use. (Vacuum sonication is great!)
- Samples and solvents should be clear and completely free of suspended or particulate materials; anything not meeting this criterion must be filtered.
Varian 3900 GC: prepare your samples in 12x32mm sample vials; samples must be clear and free of particulate matter.
Johnson Matthew magnetic susceptibility balance: users provide their own sample tubes. The “standard” sample tube has a 4mm outside diameter and 3.24mm inside diameter and a length of at least 4cm. Tubes with a flared or funnel-style top make it easier to pack the sample. Tubes with a smaller inside diameter may be used but this must be taken into account when results are calculated.
Polarimeters: users provide their own calibrant solution and sample handling equipment (pipettes and tips or bulb as appropriate) as well as solvent to rinse with and a container for used solvents. Note that for the full-circle polarimeter the sample volume required is much higher than that needed for the digital polarimeter.
Refractometer: in addition to your sample, bring something with which to dispense the few drops normally needed to make the measurement, and anything (other than Kimwipes) that you might need to clean the prism.
Melting point apparatus: bring samples prepared in closed-bottom melting point tubes (90mm long, 0.8-1.1mm diameter; Corning 9530-4 or equivalent).
Dymax UV curing oven: you will need to provide whatever additional supplies or materials that may be required for your experiment.
CE-440 CHN analyzer: we should have everything needed, although you may wish to bring a microspatula and a pair of angled or curved-tip tweezers in case ours have wandered off again.