Questions regarding instrumentation can be addressed to our instrumentation chemists.

The JMU Mass Spectrometry Teaching & Research Facility, housed within the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, was established in 2010 with two Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grants from the National Science Foundation. Over the years, new instruments have been added so that the facility provides the latest in mass spectrometry capabilities. The instruments housed in the facility include:

LC/MS:

1. Agilent 6460 triple quadrupole (QQQ) mass spectrometer coupled to two 1200 Rapid Resolution LC pumps
2. Agilent 6224 time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer coupled to a 1290 Infinity UHPLC pump
3. Agilent 6530 quadrupole time of flight (q-TOF) mass spectrometer coupled to a 1290 Infinity UHPLC pump
4. Agilent 6546 quadrupole time of flight (q-TOF) mass spectrometer coupled to a 1290 Infinity UHPLC pump (Acquired in 2023)

All four instruments are equipped with an electrospray source. The time of flight instruments afford the high mass accuracy and high resolution necessary for identification of unknowns in complex mixtures. The MS/MS capability of the q-TOF instruments afford additional structural information. The sensitivity of the QQQ makes this instrument ideal for small molecule quantitation. Together, these four instruments provide a robust platform for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of biological and environmental samples.

DART/MS:

1. JOEL AccuTOF time of flight mass spectrometer coupled to Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) source

This instrument affords direct ionization of samples with little to no sample prep. Compounds may be ionized directly from a solid surface. Compounds in solution are ionized by dipping a glass rod in solution and waving the rod in front of the DART source. This instrument is most often used by synthetic organic chemists to quickly obtain the exact mass of synthetic products.

GC/MS:

1. Agilent 5977B quadrupole GC/MS

The instrument affords the routine identification quantitation of volatile compounds. Flavor profiling is often performed on this instrument with solid phase microextraction (SPME).

ICP/MS:

1. Agilent 7800 quadrupole ICP-MS

This instrument affords the routine identification and quantitation of metals over a wide linear dynamic range.