Capabilities
Sample preparation laboratories are located in the Energy and Environment Laboratory building (EEL) Rooms 231, 232, and 269.
Environmental Contaminants Analytical Laboratory's capabilities include processing a wide range of matrices including water (drinking, surface, ground, waste), sediment, soil, and tissue. Environmental Contaminants Analytical Laboratory's high performance sample preparation equipment, listed below, offer automation and facilitate efficient, accurate, precise, and reliable sample preparation.
Glassware Decontamination/Cleaning
Branson Ultrasonic Bath/Cleaner
A precision cleaning benchtop system. It utilizes high-frequency ultrasonic waves to create microscopic cavitation bubbles in a cleaning solution to effectively remove contaminants from labware.
Thermo Scientific Thermolyne Muffle Furnace
Used for high-temperature-resistant materials, suitable for high-purity applications that can tolerate high temperatures. Muffle furnaces are used to burn off organic residues from compatible labware, especially when chemical cleaning is insufficient or could interfere with sensitive analyses.
Sample Evaporation/Concentration
Dionex ASE 350 Accelerated Solvent Extractor
An advanced automated system used for rapid extraction of analytes from solid and semi-solid samples using organic or aqueous solvents under elevated temperature and pressure.
Kuderna Danish Solvent Evaporator
Laboratory apparatus used to concentrate large volume solvent extracts by evaporating the solvent under controlled conditions, through gentle evaporation to reduce the risk of analyte degradation.
Genevac High Speed Synergy 2 Evaporator
A high-throughput benchtop laboratory instrument used for rapid and efficient evaporation of small to medium volume samples. It offers the advantages of automation and reproducibility.
Centrifuge
Used to separate solids from liquids or isolate phases in environmental samples.
Glas-col Flexivap
A nitrogen blowdown evaporator used for simultaneous solvent evaporation from multiple sample vials.
Sample Extraction
Soxhlet Extraction equipment
A laboratory apparatus used for continuous extraction of organic compounds from a solid sample using a solvent.
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) equipment
Used for extraction of organic compounds from water, for example, by passing the sample through a solid sorbent that retains the analytes.
Sample Drying
Binder oven
A high-precision drying and heating chamber used for sample drying and sterilization. Temperature range 5 °C above ambient to 300 °C.
Thermo Drying Oven
Used for sample drying and sterilization. Temperature range 250 °C to 300 °C.
Memmert Premium Vacuum Oven
A high-performance oven used for gentle, precise drying and heat treatment of sensitive materials under vacuum conditions.
Sample Grinding
Retsch Planetary Ball Mill PM 100
A high-performance grinding instrument used for ultrafine size reduction, mixing, homogenization with final fineness <1µm.
HG-600 Cole Parmer Geno/Grinder
A high-throughput tissue homogenizer for rapid and efficient homogenization of animal and plant tissue.
Retsch Cryomill
A specialized laboratory ball mill degined for cryogenic grinding of plant tissue.
Sample Agitation-Mixing-Shaking
Solaris Shaking Incubator
Thermo Scientific benchtop instrument used for precise temperature-controlled shaking of environmental and biological samples.
Shaker SK-0330M
A digital orbital shaker used for a wide range of mixing applications.
Sample Filtration
6-port Vacuum Filtration Manifold
Used to simultaneously filter multiple samples using a shared vacuum source.
Sample Weighing
NewClassic MF Balance
Ohaus Precision Plus Balance
Mettler Toledo XPR26R
Mettler Toledo Top Loader Balance
Mettler AE200 Analytical Balance
Ultra-Microbalance
DI Water Systems
Smart2Pure DI Water System
Milli-Q IQ 7005 Ultrapure Water System
Milli-Q IQ 7005 ultrapure water system
Dionex ASE 350 Accelerated Solvent Extractor
A high-throughput, automated extraction, filtration and cleanup of solid and semi-solid samples.
Kuderna Danish Solvent Evaporator
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) equipment
Sample purification and preparation prior to chromatographic analysis
Soxhlet Extraction equipment
Genevac High Speed Synergy 2 Evaporator
Thermo Scientific Thermolyne Muffle Furnace
Memmert Premium Vacuum Oven
Branson Ultrasonic Bath/Cleaner
HG-600 Cole Parmer Geno/Grinder
An automated high-throughput plant and animal tissue homogenizer.
Retsch Planetary Ball Mill PM 100
A powerful benchtop model that allows for grinding up to 220 ml sample material per batch.
Sample Preparation Lab:
231, 232, and 269 Energy and Environment Laboratory Building
753 Hastings Road
University Park, PA 16802