Optical Spectroscopy Lab
Our Optical Spectroscopy Facility, located in 1164 and 1204 in the Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry, offers a wide range of analytical instrumentation for the characterization of a variety of organic, inorganic, biological and environmental samples. Our facility is a primarily a user-based facility whereby researchers are trained on the care and handling of the equipment. In addition to providing training for new users, our staff is available to help users in the design of experiments and the interpretation of results. Users can schedule time using our online scheduling system after passing mandatory training.
| User | Rates |
| All University of Utah Researchers | $10/hour |
| Off-Campus Researchers | $15/hour |
Instrument Scheduling
Users can schedule time using our online scheduling system after passing mandatory training. Once you have an established account follow the appropriate link below to schedule time.
If you would like to schedule for the Hitachi F-7000 Fluorescence Spectrophotometer, please go here
If you would like to schedule for all other instruments in the Optical Spectroscopy Lab, please go here
If you do not have an account and need one created please contact Jim Muller
The CD spectrometer takes circularly polarized light and measures the differential absorption of the light's left and right-handed components. The spectrometer has the capability of measuring between 163-1100 nm range.
The Hitachi U4100 is a solid and liquid sample measurement system with the capability of scanning from 175-2600 nm. The instrument has a wide range of scanning speeds, the ability to achieve a resolution of 0.2 nm, and a bandwidth selection range from 0.24-8.0 nm.
The polarimeter is able to analyze optically active compounds. This polarimeter has a rotary range of ± 85° and contains a sodium spectral lamp with a spectral line at 589 nm. There are a number of integration times selectable from 0.1-100 sec. The sample cells have a path length of 1 dm and can hold up to 1 ml of sample.
The spectrophotometer is capable of scanning from 200-750 nm with a resolution of 1.0 nm. Wavelength scan speeds of 30 to 60000 nm/min can be obtained. 3D time measurement scans can be taken. Sensitivity measurements can reach 800 S/N RMS. The instrument is able to be equipped with a variety of different accessories:
- Microplate Reader: Capable of storing up to 96 samples. Experiments require a minimum of 150-200 ul sample.
- Polarizer: Capable of scanning from 260-700 nm. The polarizer rotation ranges from 0-90° on both the excitation and emission sides.
- Nano Volume Cell: Minimum volume of 60 ul required. Comes with polypropylene cap and polytetrafluoroethylene lid.
- TIRF: Used to monitor various types of kinetic reactions, such as biomolecular interactions, polarization, FRET, FRAP, FCS, quenching, anisotropy decay, and fluorescence lifetime.
The Optical Spectroscopy facility is now a University Core Facility. To ensure smooth operation of the facility and compliance with University regulations, we have established the following set of user rules.
1) Users must undergo mandatory training in order to obtain instrument access. Separate training is required for each instrument. Training sessions must be arranged individually with Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen. Anyone is eligible to reserve and use these instruments after the training requirements have been met.
2) Instrument time must be reserved in advance, using the new on-line reservation system, please go here. Users can schedule time only after passing mandatory training (see above). There are two different reservation pages, one for the Hitachi F-7000 Fluorescence Spectrophotometer and one for all of the other instruments (Hitachi U4100 UV-Vis-NIR, J-815 CD circular dichroism spectrometer, polarimeter, and scintillation counter). For the latter instruments, reservations may be made at any time prior starting a measurement.
3) For the fluorimeter, an accessory (Standard Cell, Nano Volume Cell, Cryo Cell, Microplate Reader, Polarizer, or TIRF) must be designated from the list provided on the reservation page when making the reservation. The default accessory of the fluorimeter is the Standard Cell. If any of the other accessories are needed, the fluorimeter must be reserved at least 24 hours in advance. In addition, one hour must be left open between users to allow Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen to switch the accessories. This accessory switching time will not be billed. In addition, the accessory will be switched back to the Standard Cell in the hour following the measurement (or at 8 AM the following day if the measurement ends after 6 PM). No advance notice is needed to use the fluorimeter with the Standard Cell, provided that the Standard Cell is already in place (which is the default state of the instrument).
4) Cancellation of a reservation requires 24 hours advance notice. If a cancellation is needed less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time, the user must contact either Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen. It is imperative that users accurately estimate the time required for their experiments when reserving instrument time. If a user needs more time than anticipated, it is the responsibility of the user to respect the next reservation on the instrument. If a user habitually reserves instrument time that goes unused, the PI may be billed for the unused time.
5) Each research group will be required to obtain a user account and password. The instrument usage for each group will be determined by tracking the logon/logout times. Since the polarimeter and scintillation counter lack computer interfaces, usage times will be based on a paper log book. All other instruments will require the user to log into their group account. Account access will be set up after appropriate training by Jim Muller or Hsiaonung Chen
6) In addition to logging onto the instrument computer, users must also sign into the paper log book associated with each instrument and document the start time, stop time, condition of the instrument and accessories, and any problems that arise during use.
7) The billing rate for all instruments is $10/hour for University of Utah users and $15/hour for off-campus users. This rate is set by university policy and is non-negotiable. For billing purposes, usage will be totaled on a monthly basis.
8) Failure to comply with the above rules may result in loss of individual user privileges.
Staff Contact Information:
Jim Muller: 2618 TBBC, tel. 1-5415, jmuller@chem.utah.edu
Hsiaonung Chen: 2618 TBBC, tel. 1-5415, hsiao.chen@utah.edu
Spectroscopy Links
Instrument Vendors
Education