Facilities
The department of biochemistry, chemistry and physics is housed, along with the department of biology, in the new Gold LEED-certified B. Thomas Golisano Center for Integrated Sciences. This 50,000-square-foot facility contains state-of-the-art spaces dedicated to both teaching and research.
Labs
Our ADA-compliant, handicapped-accessible teaching and research laboratories are modern and well equipped.
The first floor houses our teaching labs, while all second floor space is dedicated to student-centered research.
Chemistry research spaces include dedicated biochemistry, computational and organic chemistry research labs, a large, combined research lab for physics, physical, inorganic and analytical chemistry, and specialized rooms to house the departments’ research instruments.
Shared facilities also include a walk-in cold room, dark room and cell culture facility.
Instrumentation
Varian AS400 NMR
The department’s 400 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) instrument works on the same foundational principle as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to flip the nuclei of atoms in molecules. As such, it is housed in its own special room. At NU, the NMR instrument is central to studies of molecular structure identification for organic and biomedical research.
Agilent 1200-series HPLC and Shimadzu 2020 HPLC-MS
We have two high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instruments used to separate and quantify molecules in non-volatile liquid solutions. Our newest HPLC is equipped with mass spectrometry (MS) to aid in identifying molecules with more certainty and to smaller concentrations.
Shimadzu QP2010 GC-MS
Separation and analysis of gases and volatile liquids can be achieved by our new Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry instrument, which is also equipped with a flame ionization detector for standard GC experiments.
Nanodynamics ezAFM
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) uses a fine needle to probe the surfaces of solid samples at sub-micron levels.
Thermal Instruments
The thermal decomposition and phase change properties of materials may be studied with the department’s TA Instruments Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) and Perkin Elmer Pyris 6 Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC).
UV-Visible and Luminescence Spectrometers
We have several UV-Vis spectrometers for the analysis of chemicals in solution. Temperature-controlled experiments may be done in our Varian Cary50 UV-Vis. Long-term precision experiments benefit from the dual-beam Perkin Elmer Lambda 650 instrument. Nano-Liter droplets may be analyzed with our Shimadzu BioSpec Nano instrument. Fluorescence and phosphorescence may be studied with our Perkin Elmer LS45 luminescence spectrometer. High-throughput analysis for absorbance and luminescence can also be carried out with our Tecan M200 plate reader, also equipped with syringe pumps. Teaching labs are also equipped with multiple Spec20 and scanning Jenway 7315 UV-vis spectrometers.
Infrared Spectroscopy
Molecular structure can also be studied by infrared spectroscopy using our Buck Scientific IR instrument and our Perkin Elmer Spectrum 2 FTIR, which is equipped with transmission, ATR, and diffuse reflectance attachments.
Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS)
Our Buck Scientific AA is used for quantifying small quantities of metals in liquid samples.
Other Equipment
The department is also equipped with several -80°C freezers and shaker-incubators for biochemical research, a glove box for inert-atmosphere experiments, a Rudolph Research Autopol II polarimeter to study optical polarization of chiral molecules, and a Johnson Matthey magnetic susceptibility balance for inorganic research.