Facilities

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Kent State University maintains outstanding research and instrumentation facilities to support the research mission of its faculty and students.  

Individual faculty laboratories are well equipped with chromatographic, spectroscopic, light-scattering, thermal analysis, gravimetric and mass-spectrometric equipment. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffractometers are also housed in research laboratories in the department. Faculty members have custom-constructed unique Laser-Tweezers instruments and Fourier-transform microwave spectrometers, and a Surface Plasmon Resonance instrument has been installed. Kent State researchers have access to a wide array of synthetic techniques including photochemical, Schlenk-line and other air-sensitive methodologies. You can learn more about faculty research interests by browsing through our faculty directory.

Our students and faculty frequently collaborate with researchers in the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute and other related departments. These collaborations may provide access to the Transmission Electron Microscope facility in the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute and the Imaging Facility in Biological Sciences.

The Proteomics Core Facility assists researchers with isolation/purification, fractionation and DNA sequencing. Research Engineer Taylor Kurrle maintains the Department’s Glassblowing and Electronic shops in the basement of Williams Hall. The Physics/Chemistry machine shop in nearby Smith Hall provides expert machining services for our students and faculty.

Industrial researchers should contact Dr. Mahinda Gangoda, director of the department’s Analytical Instrumentation Facility, regarding pilot or short-term industrial research projects that may utilize the department’s research facilities.

Our Facilities

Analytical Instrumentation Facility

The Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) located in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry performs pilot or short-term industrial research projects using a wide range of state-of-the-art analytical instruments.

Over the past twenty years the AIF has provided a cost-effective means for solving analytical problems faced by the local industrial community.  Projects involving separations and surface chemistry, materials science, and coatings are major emphases, but the AIF can also serve a variety of other areas with its broad range of instrumentation.

Major methods of analysis use high resolution NMR spectroscopy for solids and liquid systems, mass spectroscopy using GC or electrospray HPLC, various thermal analyses as well as conventional infrared spectroscopy, chromatographic separations and elemental analysis (C, H, N, S).  Titration calorimetry and more sophisticated (surface) infrared analyses are also available.

Major Instrumentation

NMR Spectroscopy:

  • Agilent 500, D2
  • Bruker AVIII 400 with solid state capabilities
  • Bruker AV 400

Mass Spectroscopy:

  • Thermo ESI/MS/HPLC
  • Thermo GC/MS (EI/CI)

Thermal Analysis:

  • TGA, DSC

Services Provided

Pilot or short-term industrial projects performed (or directly supervised) by a Ph.D. analytical chemist.

Fee

Minimum rate is $50/hour; minimum project duration is four hours.

Contact

Please call Dr. Mahinda Gangoda for more information 

Analytical Instrumentation Facility Mahinda Gangoda, Ph.D., Director mgangoda@kent.edu

Mail: Analytical Instrumentation Facility Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Kent State University P.O. Box 5190 Kent, OH 44242

Phone: 330-672-3843 Fax: 330-672-3816

Beckman Coulter Biomek 2000 Laboratory Automation Workstation

Beckman Coulter Biomek 2000 Laboratory Automation Workstation

The Biomek 2000 is a robust and low-cost expandable laboratory robotics system designed to perform liquid transfer and measurement tasks. The Biomek 2000 is controlled by a PC using the Windows XP-based BioWorks™ Operating System, an easy-to-use software program that directs all instrument functions.

Beckman Coulter ProteomeLab PF2D

Beckman Coulter PF2DCompared to traditional fractionation techniques, advantages of the PF2D chromatographic approach include:

  • High loading capacity without band distortion
  • Improved detection of low-abundance species
  • Membrane or hydrophobic proteins detection
  • Enhanced reproducibility
  • Contamination-free liquid flow path
  • Automation

 

PF2D

Arrow

PF2D

Subsequent mass spectrometry analysis is easily coupled to the final fraction collector for MALDI or SELDI analysis of intact proteins or tryptic digestion followed by MALDI or ESI and peptide fingerprint mapping.

Cary 300 Series II Spectrophotometer

Cary 300 Series II Spectrophotometer

  • Pre-monochromator - Extends the working range of the Cary 300 past 5 absorbance units by lowering the stray light.
  • Sealed optics - prevents exposure to corrosive environments.
  • Variable slits - allow optimum control over data resolution. The spectral bandwidth can be set to 0.2 nm.
  • Phase locked wavelength drive - prevents peak shifts and peak suppression at high scan speeds.
  • Double choppers - ensure that the sample and reference beam strike the detector at the same point.
  • The large sample compartment - gives you more flexibility in sample size.
  • Centralized accessory control - all accessories are centrally controlled by the Accessory Controller.
Ciphergen Protein Biology System llc SELDI TOF MS

Ciphergen Protein Biology System llc SELDI TOF MS Diagram

The unique capture and enrichment methods of SELDI enable the detection of picograms of protein. The analysis platform allows for the differential comparison of multiple samples from several different populations.

Glassblowing & Electronics Shop

Taylor Kurrle

Located in the basement of Williams Hall, the glassblowing and electronics shop offers many services to the chemistry department.

Taylor Kurrle
Research Engineer II
Williams Hall 023
330-672-2977
tkurrle@kent.edu

Instrumentation

Mass Spectrometry

Kent State University is a partner in the Ohio Mass Spectrometry Consortium and the Mass Spectrometry Consortium for Materials and Medical Research which are funded by the Ohio Board of Regents Hayes Investment Fund. The following instruments were obtained from this fund:

  • An Esquire LC Ion-Trap electrospray LC/MS
  • A Thermo-Finnigan GC-MS (EI/CI detection)
  • A Voyager DE MALDI-TOF spectrometer

A Bruker Esquire 3000plus MS coupled with an Agilent mass HP 1100 HPLC (autosampler, diode array detector) is also available in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Twieg.


NMR

The NMR facility consists of a Bruker AMX 300 MHz, a Bruker DMX 400 MHz (with solids capability) and a Varian Inova 500 MHz spectrometers. Research performed in this facility includes routine organic product analysis, protein structural determination, mesoporous solids analysis, biological membrane phase transitions, microscopic imaging and quantum computing.


X-Ray

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Kent State University has a Siemens D5000 Powder Diffractometer and a Bruker AXS platform single crystal X-ray diffractometer upgraded with an APEX II CCD detector. The radiation used is graphite monochromatized Mo K a radiation (1 = 0.7107 A). The instrument is currently equipped with an Oxford 700 Series Cryostream low temperature device (operates at 100 K). Lattice determination, data collection, structure refinement, scaling, and data reduction are carried out using Apex2 v1.0-27.

Machine Shop

The Physics/Chemistry Machine Shop is located on the first floor of Smith Hall, which is adjacent to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Machinist Wade Aldhizer provides cutting, drilling, milling, and lathing services. Hours for consultation are 11:30-12:00 and 1:00-2:00 Monday – Friday.

Proteomics Core Facility

The Advanced Recombinant DNA Laboratory is equipped with the following instrumentation: Centrifuges (Beckman L8-55M, Sorvall RC-5B and a Beckman Airfuge); Perkin Elmer GeneAmp 9600 PCR system; UV Stratalinker 2400; DNA sequencing system.

Proteomics Core Facility

Instrumentation

  • Cary 300 Series II Spectrophotometer
  • Cary 300 Accessories
  • Ciphergen Protein Biology System IIc SELDI TOF MS
  • Beckman Coulter ProteomeLab PF2D
  • Beckman Coulter Biomek 2000 Laboratory Automation Workstation
  • Labconco CentriVap Concentrator/Cold Trap
  • Eppendorf 5415D Centrifuge
  • Thermolyne DRI-BATH
  • ZOOM IPG Runner System and various gel electrophoresis equipment
Cary 300 Accessories
  • SPS-5
  • Routine Sampler Accessory

The SPS-5 (top left), together with the Routine Sampler Accessory (top right), perform high throughput liquid handling. Routine sample analysis is automated, reducing error and analysis time.

  • Minimum sample volume 320μL
  • Flow cell volume 80μL
  • Wavelength range - 190-900nm
  • Temperature range - 5-~100ºC

 

Peltier Temperature Control Accessory

Peltier Temperature Control Accessory unit with provisions for six samples and six reference cuvettes

  • Staggered cell positions
  • Peltier heating/cooling
  • Built-in temperature probe for monitoring cell block temperatures
  • Electromagnetic stirring
  • Cell lifter