Facilities - University of Kentucky, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The University of Kentucky (UK) maintains a 2,000 ft2 stable isotope laboratory and ancillary office space within the Slone Research building for student, faculty and collaborator use. The laboratory contains both wet and dry bench space, two 8 ft chemical fume hoods for organic and inorganic chemical needs, a positive-flow laminar flow hood for trace metal work and various Barnsted RO and Nanopure water polishing systems. The laboratory also contains cold (+4º and -20ºC) and ultra-cold (-80ºC) storage units, high and low temperature ovens and furnaces, CO2 incubator and environmental orbital shakers, and Coy and Sheldon Anaerobic/Environmental chambers. Analytical instrumentation includes:

Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers
Two DeltaplusXPs, one DeltaplusXL and one MAT253 isotope ratio mass spectrometer capable of clumped-isotope paleothermometry. All instruments function in dual inlet and continuous flow mode and they are capable of H-, C-, N-, O-, S-, Cl- and Br-isotope analysis.

Peripheral devices
All dual inlets contain microfingers for microliter size gas sample analysis; a GC-C-III (FID detector) and GC-TC- for compound specific H-, C-, N-, and O-isotope ratio measurement of mixed volatiles (liquids or gases); a CE NA2500 and Costech ECS4010 Elemental Analyzer (TCD detectors) for the H-, C-, N-, and S-isotope analysis of solids; two Thermofisher TC/EA devices for the H- and O-isotope analysis of liquids and solids; two Thermofisher Gasbench II devices for the compound-specific H-, C-, N- and O-isotope ratio analysis of pure/mixed gases and liquids; four CTC Analytics autosamplers (Combi-, GC-, and HTS-PAL units, incl. headspace option); and Thermofisher Conflo II and Conflo III interfaces.

Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy
The laboratory has four Picarro cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) units for the real time measurement of CH4 (G1202) and NH3 (G1103) trace gas (ppb to ppm) concentrations; the concentration and carbon isotope analysis of gaseous CO2 (G1101-i); and the hydrogen and oxygen isotope analysis of vapor and liquid H2O (L1102-i).

Other equipment
Varian CP-3800 GC (TCD and FID detectors) with a CP-8410 auto-injector, a Saturn 2000 GC/MS/MS, and a CDS Pyroprobe 2000; a Beckman Coulter LS 13 320 laser diffraction particle size analyzer (to 0.04 microns using the PID) for grain size analysis; a Retsch cryogrinder for pulverizing brittle to plastic (wet or dry) material; two Merchantek Micromills for the high spatial resolution (micron) computer-assisted milling of solids; a ten- manifold Labconco freeze drier; an Isomet 1000 variable speed saw and ancillary thin sectioning equipment; various centrifuges and analytical balances (to +/- 1 mg).

Equipment for aqueous geochemistry applicationa includes: Masterflex L/S peristaltic pumps, a Metrohm 905 Titrando autotitrator, HACH spectrophotometers and colorimeters (DR/2000 and DR/890). a Labconco Rotory Evaporator and Welch Dry Vacuum system; various pH and selective ion electrode meters

Conventional glass and metal vacuum extraction lines are available for the off-line extraction and preparation of a variety of materials including minerals, fluids, and waters.

The department also contains additional specialized equipment including: two x-ray diffractometers (Bruker AXS D8 Discovery and a Rigaku XRD); a Cameca SX-50 electron microprobe; and a fluid inclusion laboratory that contains a U.S.G.S. heating-cooling stage mounted on a Leitz microscope with s digital camera attachment and video monitor.

Various general purpose facilities include a rock cutting room that houses four 12 to 28 in dia. oil- and water-cooled saws and lap wheels; an optical petrography laboratory that contains multiple Nikon binocular petrographic and magnifying microscopes, and a Nuclide cathodoluminoscope; various meeting rooms; a computer center; and a distance learning facility.

Several additional research facilities support the department including the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences (PSS), the Electron Microscopy Center, the Environmental Research and Training Laboratory (ERTL), and the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS).

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at UK
The Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology group of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences operates a state-of-the-art analytical laboratory that is available to researchers in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Instrumentation includes: an Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) –Agilent 7500cx for elemental analysis; laser ablation system – CETAC LSX- 215A- coupled with the ICP-MS for spatially resolved analysis of trace elements and nanomaterials is solid samples; a Wyatt Eclipse 3 Flow Field Flow Fractionation system that uses ICP-MS, refractive index, light scattering, UV-VIS and fluorescence detectors to simultaneously separate, determine particle size and examine surface modifications; a Refractive index – Wyatt optilab –rEX- used as a universal concentration detector; a Multi Angle Light Scattering (MALS)-Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) – Wyatt DAWN HELEOS 2 – 18 angle light scattering detector with an avalanche photodiode; a high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) system – Agilent 1200 series equipped with diode array-UV-VIS and synchronous scanning fluorescence detectors; an Ion Chromatography – Dionex ICS 3000; a Malvern zetasizer nano ZS – NIBS-DLS that uses non-invasive back scattering-dynamic in suspensions with high concentrations alleviating the need to dilute samples; and a Zeta PALS - Malvern zetasizer nano ZS – that uses phase angle light scattering and laser doppler electrophoresis to determine the electrophoretic mobility/zeta potential of nano and micro particles. The laboratory is also equipped with a titrator to examine zeta potential as a function of solution chemistry and to determine pH of zero net charge; a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer- Varian Bio 50 – equipped with nano-volume cuvette and microplate reader; a Tuning fork viscometer – Malvern vibro-viscometer- used to determine the viscosity of suspensions, necessary for obtaining accurate dynamic light scattering results; a fluorescence microscope – Nikon Eclispe 91i – for imaging of fluorescence, dark field scattering, and differential interference contrast; and access to a Synchrotron based x-ray microprobe – Beamline X26A located at the National Synchrotron Light Source. The microprobe can be used for elemental imaging, determination of oxidation state, crystallinity and bonding environment for extremely small samples (spot size 5-10 um). The Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology group support a full time technician on the beam and subsequently has access to regular beam time.

Electron Microscopy Center at UK
The Electron Microscopy Center serves the entire university community. The Center is a multi-user shared equipment center and operates on a cost recovery basis. Instrumentation available to researchers includes: S-3200-n Hitachi environmental scanning electron microscope (E-SEM); a S-900 Hitachi Field emission (FE-SEM); and a S-4300 Hitachi SEM; JEOL 2000FX transmission electron microscope (200 keV) equipped with Oxford Inca EDS system and a GATAN TV with digital image capture. Single, double, and straining holders are available for the JEOL 2000 FX; a JEOL2010F Field Emission Gun TEM equipped with a Fischione HAADF detector, Oxford EDS detector, EmiSpec EsVision and a GATAN GIF 2000. JEOL single, double low background, and GATAN cryo double tilt holders.

Sample preparation equipment includes: an Emscope gold sputter coater; a EmiTech K-750 Carbon coater; a freeze dryer; a Bueller Icomet 3 grinder; a Bueller Isomet Diamond saw; a GATAN 601 ultrasonic cutter; a GATAN 656 dimpler; a GATAN 691 precision ion mill; a Fischione ion mill; a Struers TenuPOL-5 jet polisher; and a Zeiss Optical Microscope.

Environmental Research and Training Laboratories at UK
The University of Kentucky is home of the Environmental Research and Training Laboratories (ERTL), which is an interdisciplinary, multi-user analytical facility that performs or assists with a variety of organic and inorganic, and microbiological analyses. The organic/inorganic laboratory contains the following instruments: 1) two gas chromatographs with mass spectrometers (GCMS), 2) three GCs (electron-capture, flame-ionization and thermal-conductivity detectors), 3) liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (LCMS) with a triple quadrupole detector, 4) high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), 5) ion chromatograph (IC), 6) inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometer (ICPOES), 7) atomic adsorption spectrophotometer with a graphite furnace (GFAA), and 8) mercury analyzer.

The microbial laboratory includes the following items: laminar flow hoods, an epifluorescent microscope with digitizing capability, a spiral plating machine, an automatic media dispenser, tissue-culture capability, molecular hybridization and polymerase chain reaction capability, a chemostat, large scale autoclaves, temperature-control chambers, a swinging bucket centrifuge, and a stomacher.

The Kentucky Geological Survey at UK
The University of Kentucky campus is home to the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS). Survey staff members serve as adjunct faculty in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the analytical facilities at KGS are available to departmental students, faculty and collaborators. These facilities include: a Thermofisher iCAP 6500 dual view Inductively Coupled Argon Plasma Spectrometer (ICAP-OES); a CEM MARS digestion microwave and a Environmental Express HOT BLOCK for sample digestion; a Dionex D500 and a Dionex ICS3000 Ion Chromatography for Anion determination; a Varian Cary 50 Bio UV-visible spectrometer; Accumet AB30 Conductance meter and an Accumet XL15 pH meter; a Brinkmann Metrohm Titrino and a Mettler Toledo T70 auto titrator systems; a Thermo Carbon Dioxide probe/meter; a Hach 2100N Turbidity meter; a Tekmar Torch TOC and Total Nitrogen analyzer; a Barnstead Easy Pure II and a Milli-Q water purification systems; and a SDI Immunoassay reader for ELISA determination. The Coal and Mineral laboratories include the following equipment and capabilities:  a Bruker AXS D8 Discover X-Ray diffraction unit; a Bruker AXS S4 Pioneer X-Ray Fluorescence unit; a Katanax K1 Prime automatic sample fluxer; a Carver automated hydraulic sample press; a TA SDT Q600 DSC-TGA analyzer; a LECO TGA 701 proximate analyzer; a LECO AC500 bomb calorimeter; and a LECO SC144 DR Sulfur and Carbon analyzer.

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