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Capabilities

The Environmental Analytical Core Facility (EACF) at UMass Boston offers access to expertise, services, and state-of-the-art equipment. Contact us at EACF@umb.edu with questions about any of the services and instrumentation you see listed here.

Chemical Analysis

The EACF specializes in the elemental chemical analysis of environmental samples and critical materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Environmental samples can include waters, sediment, soils, rocks, and biological tissues, whereas manufactured critical materials include batteries, computer chips, semi-conductors, magnets, chemotherapy drugs, and other pharmaceuticals, among others. The EACF has two ICP-MS instruments (Perkin Elmer NexION 2000 quadrupole instrument and Nu Instrument Attom ES, double focusing, sector field instrument).

The EACF provides expert analyses of the rare earth elements, with emphasis on the lanthanide series elements as well as other critical metal(loids) like tungsten, antimony, gold, silver, and rhenium. The EACF is well suited for studies of critical minerals and potentially toxic trace elements including arsenic, lead, chromium, among others. Critical minerals research is crucial for the high-tech and green energy initiatives important for a circular economy.

The elemental analyses capabilities also include laser ablation of environmental and manufactured materials for surface chemical analysis and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ICP-MS for metal and metalloid speciation analysis of environmental samples.

Nutrient Analysis

We can provide several solutions to your nutrient analysis questions and needs.

Macronutrients such as nitrogen species, phosphate, and silica can be measured in environmental water samples by either one of the EACF’s two ion chromatographs, by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, or flow injection analysis, depending on your detection limit requirements. Chlorophyll can also be quantitively measured in water samples using UV-Vis spectrophotometer.

SEM-based Materials Science Analysis

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) within the EACF imaging laboratory provides an ideal tool for characterizing material properties down to 1 micron in size. The coupled energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) allows for qualitative analysis of the chemical composition of these materials, with the option of developing element maps of the material’s surface.

Microplastics

Microplastics formed by the breakdown of manufactured plastic products are ubiquitous in the environment. Let us help you to identify the composition of microplastics in your samples using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy within the EACF imaging laboratory.

Instrumentation

  • Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS)
    • Thermo Delta V+ IR-MS with universal triple collector
    • Thermo Gas Bench II for isotopic analyses of water, dissolved inorganic carbon, and carbonate minerals
    • Costech Elemental Analyzer ECS 4010 for carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotopic analyses in solids
    • Ocean Analytical Wet Oxidation Total Organic Carbon Analyzer for carbon isotopic measurements of dissolved inorganic and organic carbon
    •  Thermo GC Isolink and Trace GC Ultra for compound specific carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements
    • Thermo TC/EA High Temperature Conversion Elemental Analyzer for Oxygen and Hydrogen isotopic analyses in solids
  • Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)
    • PerkinElmer NexION 2000C
  • High Resolution (magnetic sector)
    • ICP-MS
    • Nu Instrument Attpm ES
  • ICP-MS peripherals and processing equipment:
    • Solid sampling: CETAC 213 G2+ (213 nm Nd:YAG) equipped with the HelEX II sample cell with larger format and glass slide sample drawers
    • Liquid Sampling:  CETAC ADX-500 online autodilution autosampler, CETAC ASX-520 auto-sampler, and ESI seaFAST S2 Automated Preconcentration system for undiluted seawater
  • Electron Microscopy
    • JEOL JSM-6010LA IntouchScope Scanning Electron Microscope
  • Microscopy
    • Leica S6D Stereo Microscope
  • Elemental Analyzer (EA)
    • PerkinElmer EA: NC of solids
  • Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
    • Smiths Detection FTIR Microscope
  • Liquid Nutrients
    • Lachat QuickChem 8500 FIA
    • Thermo Dionex Aquion Ion Chromotography (IC) System for surface water anions and cations (Dionex AS-DV autosampler)
    • Metrohom Vario 940 (IC)
  • Sediment Digestion Systems
    • CEM MARS microwave digestion system
  • UV-Vis Spectrometers
    • PerkinElmer Lambda 35
  • Digital Microbalances
    • Satorius Cubis ultra-microbalance
    • PerkinElmer AD-6 Autobalance and Weighing Unit