Core Facilities & Equipment
The DNA Analysis Core Facility’s (DNA Core) mission is to provide UNCW with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and expertise needed to generate and analyze DNA data for research and education. It is the only DNA analysis facility in southeastern North Carolina.
The DNA Core has been the catalyst for interactions between researchers representing various research programs during its 15+ years of operation by providing an efficient and cost-effective means for the generation and analyses of DNA sequence, fragment and real-time PCR data. The ease of use, low run costs and reliability of the facility’s instruments have enhanced productivity and expanded the research capabilities of a growing number of faculty and students at UNCW.
The DNA Core is used extensively to train students through its use by UNCW and local community college classes, and it plays an essential role in student research projects.
Contact for DNA Analysis
Overview
FLITES: Forensic Light Isotope & Trace Environmental Spectrometry
The FLITES Facility at UNCW offers access to various chromatographic instruments with a variety of detectors for targeted, trace level quantification of organic compounds in purified extracts.
The following information provides a brief overview of capabilities and associated fee.
Fee Breakdown:
-
UNCW-Affiliated Users – UNCW faculty and collaborators (co-PIs on grants or co-authors on planned publications)
-
External Users – Non-UNCW affiliated researchers
*See the Scheduling & Fees tab for more information and the full breakdown
**Terms and Conditions below
Stable Isotope
FLITES supports six isotopic analysis types, including bulk and compound-specific C, N, H, O, and S measurements of organic materials, headspace gases, and purified compounds (e.g., nitrate), using IRMS and Orbitrap platforms, with requirements varying by consumables and student labor.
Bulk
Slider: Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Carbonates using the Gasbench
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GB Carbonate Sample/Standard Analysis Only | $3.00 | $25.00 |
| GB Carbonate Sample/Standard Weighing and Analysis | $9.00 | $35.00 |
Viper: Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analyses of Combustible Organics on the Elemental Analyzer Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (EA-IRMS)
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| EA Sample/Standard Analysis Only | $3.00 | $10.00 |
| EA Full Sample Preparation and Analysis (including sample drying, grinding, acid rinse, weighing, and analysis) | $17.00 | $35.00 |
| EA Full Sample Preparation and Analysis (no carbonate removal) | $11.00 | $30.00 |
| EA Sample/Standard Weighing and Analysis | $8.00 | $25.00 |
Rooster: Sulfur Isotope Analysis of Organic Compounds using the Elemental Analyzer Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (EA-IRMS)
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| EA Sulfur Sample/Standard Analysis Only | $10.00 | $25.00 |
| EA Sulfur Sample/Standard Weighing and Analysis | $15.00 | $35.00 |
Cyclone: Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Organic Solids or Small Volume Liquids via High Temperature Conversion Elemental Analysis (HTC-EA)
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| HTC-EA Sample/Standard Analysis Only | $13.00 | $40.00 |
| HTC-EA Sample/Standard Weighing and Analysis | $18.00 | $50.00 |
Compound Specific
Iceman & Hangman: Carbon, Nitrogen, and Hydrogen Isotope Analysis of Individual Organic Compounds using the Gas Chromatograph Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (GC-IRMS)
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC-IRMS Sample/ Standard Analysis Only | $22.00 | $140.00 |
Bob: Multiple Isotope Measurements on Purified, Liquid Soluble Compounds using the Orbitrap 240 Mass Spectrometer (Orbitrap-IRMS)
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| Orbitrap Isotope Analysis | $75.00 per hour | $250.00 per hour |
Note: A minimum charge of 1 hour applies to each instrument booking. Users will be billed in 30-minute increments after the first hour.
Targeted Quantification
The FLITES Facility offers access to various chromatographic instruments with a variety of detectors for targeted, trace level quantification of organic compounds in purified extracts.
Gas Chromotography (MS/MS & No MS)
Chef: Bruker GC-MS/MS with EI and CI sources
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC-MS | $15.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
| GC-MS/MS | $17.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
Jester: Thermo 1310 Gas Chromatograph interfaced with a Single Quad Mass Spectrometer
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC-MS | $15.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
| GC-MS/MS | $17.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC-FID | $10.00 per hour | $80.00 per hour |
Merlin: Thermo 1310 Gas Chromatograph with flame ionization (FID) and thermal conductivity detectors (TCD)
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC-FID | $10.00 per hour | $80.00 per hour |
| GC-TCD | $10.00 per hour | $80.00 per hour |
Chappy: Bruker Scion GC-ECD/FID
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC-ECD/FID | $10.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
Liquid Chromatography (MS/MS)
Warlock: Shimadzu XR 40D LC coupled to a Sciex 5500+ MS/MS with ESI and APCI sources with the ability to operate in positive and negative modes
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| LC-MS/MS | $22.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
Compound Purification and Preconcentration
FLITES houses an Agilent 7890 GC interfaced with a Gerstel preparative fraction collector device capable of isolating individual compounds eluted through the GC.
Phoenix: Compound Purification via Preparative Gas Chromatograph
| Description | UNCW-Affiliated | External User |
| GC Fraction Collector | $20.00 per hour | $100.00 per hour |
Other Services
Please contact Ralph or Chad for availability of services below:
| Description | Price |
| Sample Dilution/Concentration | Contact co-coordinators |
| Extraction and Cleanup (e.g. SPE, LLE) | |
| Custom Sample Preparation | |
| Basic Data Processing (Quantitation, Integration) | Contact co-coordinators |
| Advanced Data Analysis | |
| Custom Data Analysis/Interpretation | |
| Overtime (Weekends/After Hours) | Contact co-coordinators |
| Sample Storage |
Scheduling & Fees
Scheduling
Stable Isotope: Contact Chad Lane (lanec@uncw.edu) or Taylor Conklin (conklint@uncw.edu)
Targeted Quantification: Contact Ralph Mead (meadr@uncw.edu)
- Restricted to 4 consecutive weekdays
- A single user cannot book two consecutive 4-day blocks of time unless there are no other users waiting to use the instrument
- 5th day of the week is used for instrument maintenance and preparation for the next instrument user.
- Exception: Compound-specific stable isotope analyses can be booked for 9 consecutive weekdays
- Use of instrumentation outside of normal business hours is at the discretion of the facility coordinators & based on experience with the instrumentation and safety protocols.
-
Individuals who do not show up for their scheduled instrument use without a minimum of one working week of notification will be penalized with a $250 fee to account for lost analysis time, instrument setup, and associated consumables.
Fees
Fees are broken into two categories depending on funding source and/or collaborative relationship with UNCW researchers:
-
UNCW-Affiliated Users – This fee applies to UNCW faculty and collaborators (meaning co-PIs on grants or co-authors on planned publications) conducting analyses in the FLITES facility.
-
External Users – This fee applies to any non-UNCW affiliated researchers interested in isotopic and trace quantitative analyses from the FLITES facility.
Terms and Conditions
- All fees are subject to change based on operational costs and equipment maintenance needs.
- A cancellation policy of at least 5 business days' notice is required to avoid charges for reserved instrument time.
- Billing will be done monthly through the CMS Business Office
- Payment options for non-academic and external users will be discussed upon booking.
- Users must complete a user training session before independent instrument usage (if applicable).
- Access to the facility is contingent upon available scheduling and instrument maintenance.
Contact for FLITES
Stable Isotope
Chad Lane
lanec@uncw.edu
or
Taylor Conklin
conklint@uncw.edu
Targeted Quantification
Ralph Mead
meadr@uncw.edu
UNC-WIRMS houses two stable isotope mass spectrometers interfaced with a variety of peripheral devices that allow for stable isotopic analyses of light elements (C, H, O, N, S) in a wide variety of sample types including organic tissues, sediments, carbonates, gasses, liquids, and individual organic compounds.
The facility also includes a gas chromatograph equipped with a quadrupole mass spectrometer and flame ionization detector for organic compound identification and quantification, two ultra-high precision microbalances, a micromill and wet lab space for sample preparation.
The UNC-WIRMS operates as a training facility whereby users (students and faculty) are taught proper use of instrumentation by facility personnel and are then responsible for conducting their own analyses. Facility personnel will assist with data processing and QA/QC. Sample preparation is the responsibility of the researcher.
Facility personnel will do their best to provide advice for sample preparation, but please keep in mind that methods vary widely among sample types and some types of analyses may be new to facility personnel.
Contact for Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry
Dr. Chad Lane
Director
910.962.3466
The Nutrient Analysis Core Facility at the UNCW Center for Marine Science is well equipped to support the center’s mission of basic and applied research. In particular, the nutrient core facility is heavily utilized (more than 10,000 samples analyzed annually) for studies on biogeochemical nutrient and carbon cycling and water quality monitoring in a variety of aquatic environments.
The lab houses seven research grade instruments for nutrient and organic analyses of both aqueous and solid samples. The lab operates as a valuable training facility where users are trained to operate the instruments and are then able to schedule to run their analysis according to their timeframes. Expert training, supervision and troubleshooting is available with prior arrangement.
Other than replacement of low-cost consumables, there are no fees for UNCW users. Samples from outside UNCW are run at nominal costs.
Contact for Nutrient Analysis
The Oceanographic Instrumentation Core Facility supports estuarine and coastal ocean research at the UNCW Center for Marine Science by operating and maintaining a suite of specialized field instrumentation and providing technical and electronics support to faculty, staff and students.
The instrumentation available provides researchers with capabilities ranging from in-situ measurement of physical, biological and chemical properties of water to mapping the geology of bottom habitats. Equipment and instruction is also made available to marine science classes for “hands-on” learning during laboratory courses.
Contact for Oceanographic Instrumentation
Jay Styron
styronj@uncw.edu
Location: CMS 1345
The UNCW Sediment Analysis Core Facility houses two instruments, a Camsizer XT Particle Grain Analyzer and a Beckman Coulter LS 13 320 Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyzer. These are available for faculty and student use. Samples for both instruments are not preserved after measurement.
The Camsizer is capable of quantifying a variety of grain size characteristics (size, roundedness, dimensional ratios, etc.) for particles ranging from 1μm to 3 mm. Samples can be analyzed dry or in solution.
The Beckman Coulter is capable of measuring particle size ranging from 10 nm to 2 mm. Samples are analyzed in water.
Sample preparation (organics removal, sample disaggregation, etc.) is the responsibility of the researcher. Facility personnel will do their best to provide advice for sample preparation, but please keep in mind that methods vary widely among sample types and some types of analyses may be new to facility personnel. Researchers are asked to cover the cost of any necessary consumables for sample analysis, but there is no sample fee.
Faculty or students interested in using the facility should contact Dr. Shannon Klotsko to schedule the initial instrument training. After training approval, please use the booking calendar below to schedule time on either instrument. Default time slots are two (2) hours; book as many as needed.
Contact for Sediment Analysis
The Spectroscopy Core Facility is equipped with both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography/gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC/GCMS) capabilities. Our instrumentation available:
NMR Spectrometers
- Bruker Biospin 500 MHz AVANCE Series Digital NMR, complete with the following probes for 1H, 13C, and 15N detection: 1.7 mm TXI inverse probe with Z-gradient, 5 mm TXI inverse probe with X,Y,Z-gradients and 5 mm BBO probe with Z-gradient
- Bruker Biospin 600 MHz AV-III Series Digital NMR, complete with the following probes for 1H, 13C, and 15N, and 19F detection: 5 mm TXI inverse probe with Z-gradient, 5 mm BBFO probe with Z-gradient
MS Available
- Waters XEVO G2-XS QTOF HRMS equipped with an Acquity UPLC
- Waters I-Class UPLC with QDa Mass Detector equipped with an PDA UV-Vis detector, degasser and autosampler.
Contact for Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy instrumentation is reserved using the FACES scheduling system.
For access and training, please contact the facility director or a member of the advisory committee:
Remington X. Poulin, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Director of Spectroscopy Facilities
Spectroscopy Core Facility Advisory Committee
R. Thomas Williamson, PhD
Yousry Sayed Distinguished Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Wendy Strangman, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Please note fee schedules below:
NMR Fee Schedule
|
NMR Time* |
Technical support |
Consultation |
|
|
UNCW Faculty / Students** |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
MARBIONC Tenants** |
$40 / hr. or |
$80 / hr. |
$80 / hr. |
|
Outside Academic Institutions** |
$20 / hr. or |
$80 / hr. |
$80 / hr. |
|
Outside Commercial**** |
$80 / hr. or |
$120 / hr. |
$120 / hr. |
Users are responsible for all consumables including NMR tubes, deuterated solvents, pipettes, and sample disposal.
*Hourly charges reflect actual reserved blocks on the NMR scheduler. Time is reservable in minimum of 15-minute blocks.
**UNCW Students, MARBIONC tenants, and Outside Academic Institutions are expected to independently acquire data on their samples after appropriate training by the UNCW NMR/MS facilities Director. Otherwise, outside commercial charges apply.
***Per sample charges assume 1D 1H NMR only with a maximum of 15 minutes of reserved instrument time.
****Charges reflect acquisition of data by UNCW NMR/MS Facilities Director.
UNCW faculty/student access will be prioritized over other users of this facility.
MS Fee Schedule
| QDA MS Access* |
Q-TOF Access |
Technical support | Consultation | |
| UNCW Faculty / Students** | No charge | No charge | No charge | No charge |
| MARBIONC Tenants** | $10 / sample** | call*** | $80 / hr. | $80 / hr. |
| Outside Academic Institutions** | $5 / sample | call*** | $80 / hr. | $80 / hr. |
| Outside Commercial**** | $40 / sample | $120 / sample | $120 / hr. | $120 / hr. |
*Sample charges reflect actual samples recorded in instrument logbook.
**UNCW Students, MARBIONC tenants, and Outside Academic Institutions are expected to independently acquire data on their samples after appropriate training by the UNCW NMR/MS facilities Director. Otherwise, outside commercial charges apply.
***Contact NMR/MS facility manager to discuss specific applications.
****Charges reflect acquisition of data by UNCW NMR/MS Facilities Director.
UNCW faculty/staff access will be prioritized over other users of this facility.
Research Support Equipment & Services
The Center for Marine Science operates two unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in support of faculty and student research projects.
The senseFly eBee plus RTK is a fixed-wing drone suitable for mapping large areas and can be outfitted with a variety of imaging sensors. The DJI Phantom 3 Pro is a general purpose quadcopter drone suitable for most mapping applications.
Requests for use are made on a first-come, first-serve basis and the Center reserves the right to limit the number of requests for use based on competing needs, maintenance needs, operating personnel, or safety considerations.
senseFly eBee+ RTK
The senseFly eBee+ RTK is a fixed wing unmanned aerial system capable of high resolution aerial mapping of large areas, while providing survey-grade accuracy. This system can be equipped with one of three camera options during missions:
- S.O.D.A. - RGB camera capable of high resolution imagery (20 megapixel) at visible wavelengths
- Parrot Sequoia - multispectral sensor with a 16 MP RGB sensor and 4 monochrome sensors measuring light at 550 nm (green), 660 nm (red), 735 nm (red-edge) and 790 nm (near-infrared)
- thermoMAP - thermal imaging camera capable of photos and video with high pixel density and thermal resolution
DJI Phantom 3 Professional Quadcopter Drone
The DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter drone is suitable for mapping applications. It contains a 12 MP RGB camera and is capable of capturing high quality 4K/30 fps video. Mapping missions can be set up using DJI Ground Station pro software.
The CMS Instrument Fabrication Shop operates in support of coastal and marine science faculty and student research projects. There are the capabilities to work with a wide range of materials from stainless steel to plastics.
Start a machine shop project[Please save a copy of the pdf to your computer, then fill out.]
Equipment includes:
- Lathe
- Vertical milling machine
- Band saws
- Table saw
- Welding apparatus
Experienced personnel operate this machinery to construct new projects and do repairs on currently operating equipment when possible. A completed Machine Shop Work Request form is required before the start of each project.
Contact Information
John Nunes
Phone: 910.962.2577
The Center for Marine Science maintains two seawater systems that provide reliable access to seawater for research projects and outreach programs. Learn more about our seawater operation.
Our Aquaculture Facility at Wrightsville Beach seawater system became operational in 1991 and now primarily focuses on intensive finfish culture. In 2000, the Center for Marine Science seawater system began supporting much broader scientific endeavors.
365 Days a Year
Both systems have had several upgrades to improve automation, filtration, distribution and reliability. A centralized digital management system operates behind the scenes to assure continuous seawater delivery even during adverse weather events. Our seawater team is on call 24 hours a day/365 days a year to keep our research in constant operation.
Seawater Contact
Jimmy White, Aquaculture Systems Technician
910.962.2312