IIRMES comprises five contiguous laboratories covering some 2,800sq. ft. of space housed in the basement of Peterson Hall 3 (PH3) within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at CSULB. The centralization of the instrumentation helps foster an intellectual critical mass which not only promotes their effective utilization with minimum sample transport and disturbance, but also enhances cross-disciplinary collaboration. Details of the capital equipment and their applications are described below:

Perkin Elmer 6100 Dynamic Reaction Cell (DRC) ICP-MS and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

This instrument is ideally suited for quantitative elemental analysis of solutions, with hydride generation facility, robotic autosampler, a flow injection analysis system and an interfaced two-dimensional HPLC for metalloprotein separtaion and analysis. The double quadrupole is equipped with a dynamic reaction chamber (DRC) in the first quadrupole that removes many of the polyatomic interferences caused by complex matrices that can confound accurate quantification of particular elements by conventional ICP-MS.  The instrument was installed in 1999, can operate round the clock and has continuously performed at, or better than, the manufacturer’s analytical specifications.

 NSF funding has allowed the purchase of three HPLC systems utilizing isocratic, tertiary and quaternary gradients that are available for the separation of compounds by reverse phase, ion pairing, ion exchange and steric hinderance.  Detection of eluting species is available by ICP-MS, diode array detection, refractance or by post column derivatization.  Two dimensional HPLC involving sequential size exclusion and ion exchange separation is also available for the separation of complex mixtures of cytosolic proteins.

 Finnegan MAT Delta-XP Stable Isotope Gas-ratio Mass Spectrometer

 The Delta-XP, installed in 2004, has dual inlet and continuous flow capabilities.  The dual inlet provides economical and reliable determination of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen isotope ratios of gas species containing these elements. Sample preparation and gas extraction is performed off-line in a newly refurbished stable isotope laboratory. Three extraction lines are available: (i) a vacuum line that uses fluorine gas to extract oxygen from silicate materials for oxygen isotope analysis; (ii) a vacuum line that provides for the extraction of carbon dioxide from carbonate materials for carbon and oxygen isotope analysis; and (iii) an oxygen isotope extraction line for the analysis of the oxygen isotopic composition of water.  The continuous flow inlet provides for the introduction of H2 and CO gas produced by reacting liquid or solid sample materials in an elemental analyzer that utilizes carbon reduction to produce these gases, allowing for the measurement of hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios.

Risø TL/OSL-DA-15 Luminescence Reader

 IIRMES is currently establishing a luminescence lab for the dating of ceramics, lithics, and sediments.  Luminescence dating is a rapidly expanding field. Recent advances in technique and instrumentation have improved both the accuracy and precision of the method, with the result that luminescence dating is becoming an important method in Quaternary science. The advantage luminescence dating has over other techniques is the ability to date directly events of archaeological and geological interest: the last heating of ceramics and lithics and the last exposure of light for sediments. This often eliminates the need for associational arguments and the uncalibrated loss of accuracy involved therein. Equipment that will be installed includes a state-of-the-art Risø TL/OSL-DA-15 combined TL/OSL reader.  The TL/OSL-DA-15 unit is fully automated unit with 48-sample capacity. In addition, to the luminescence reader IIRMES runs 2 Littlemore alpha counters and a calibrated Sr-90 source.

 FEI Quanta 200 Analytical Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM)

 A recent NSF-MRI grant funded the purchase of an FEI environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) with integrated Oxford Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopic analyzer (WDS) and cathodoluminescence elemental mapping.   Operating in environmental mode, the ESEM is capable of imaging and major/minor elemental characterization of large samples at low vacuum without the need for sample over coating eliminating spectral artifacts traditionally associated with sputter-coated materials. A recently acquired Peltier cooling stage can be used to raise and lower the temperature of specimens in the sample chamber, useful for visualizing mineral phases at various temperatures and pressures.

 GBC Optimass orthogonal TOF ICP-MS and New Wave 213 LUV Laser Ablation System

 This instrument, installed in 2004, is one of only a handful of instruments of its type installed in North America. The major advantage of the TOF mass discriminator over a quadrupole system is the speed of data acquisition, which provides for essentially simultaneous analysis across the mass spectrum. This form of analysis is advantageous where the element signal is highly transient yet needs to be resolved temporally.  The instrument has an attached NewWave 213LUV Laser Ablation system that permits solid sample, in-situ analysis of a wide variety of biological, chemical, geological or archaeological samples.

 Veeco Nanoscope III Multimode Scanning Probe Microscope

 A Nanoscope III Multimode Scanning Probe Microscope from Veeco (previously Digital Instruments) is available for nano-scale metrology as well as scientific investigations.  Multimode SPM includes contact and tapping-mode atomic force microscope, magnetic force microscope, lateral force microscope, and scanning tunneling microscope.  SPM can measure atoms, molecules, and other nanoscale topographic, magnetic, and electric features with accuracy and precision and has established itself as a premier tool in nanotechnology.  The instrument has a sample heater with a fluid cell that provides in-situ heating and temperature control up to 50°C for samples in air and fluids.

 Geophysical Survey

 Over the past decade, a number of powerful methods have been developed for characterizing subsurface landscapes using devices placed on the surface of the earth.   Resistivity devices, for example, measure the amount of electrical energy that passes between two points in the ground.  Magnetometry tracks fluctuations in the earth’s magnetic field at points along the surface.  Ground penetrating radar units record the refection of radar waves as they transmitted. All of these units provide unique insight into subsurface structures that cannot be collected without expensive excavations.  IIRMES maintains a set of cutting-edge geophysical devices including Geometrics G-858 portable cesium sensor magnetometer, the Geometrics OhmMapper Capacitively Coupled Resistivity meter and GSSI’s SIRveyor SIR-20 GPR system.

 Agilent 5975 Inert MSD Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS)

 Installed in 2005, the Agilent GC/MS is a laboratory workhorse, providing high transmission, high resolution scans up to 1050 u for maximum mass characterization. Quantitative analysis modes include SemiQuant, synchronous SIM/scan, plus qualitative analysis modes for rapid detection of ions and improved method design. The 5975's ability to provide rapid deconvolution, identification and quantification in complex matrices allows automated computer analysis for maximum analytical and cost efficiency. Agilent's online database of user software and methods makes contract analysis of complex samples more cost efficient.

 ABI 4800 Double-Focusing MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS

 A grant for $500,000 has been obtained from the W.M. Keck Foundation for the development of a proteomics center for student training and research. These funds, together with supplemental matching funds provided by the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at CSULB have been used to purchase an Applied Biosystems 4800 Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization, tandem Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) for protein and polypeptide analysis and identification. Ancillary equipment for sample preparation and handling include a 2D gel system, spot cutter, liquid sample handler with digestion and target spotting and software for spot recognition and peptide digestion mass finger print mapping Now fully operational, the MALDI-TOF-MS will become part of CSU system-wide Center for Education in Proteomic Analysis (CEPA) and the FEMCA core facility supported by CSUPERB.