The Organic Geochemistry Facility (led by Dr Jessica Whiteside) hosts a variety of instruments designed to characterise organic matter from the environment and the geological record. The facility has dedicated sample preparation lab, wet chemistry lab space, and an instrumentation lab utilizing state-of-the-art gas chromatographs (GC) linked to various mass spectrometers, including a GC-isotope ratio mass spectrometer. For further information, please contact Dr Jessica Whiteside , Dr Gordon Inglis or Dr Sargent Bray .
Equipment
Our facility specialises in the extraction, purification, separation, and chemical and isotopic characterization of complex organic mixtures found in biological and environmental materials. Gas chromatography (GC) is used to separate complex mixtures of volatile compounds. A range of hyphenated techniques (e.g. GC-mass spectrometry) are then used to characterise these complex mixtures. We also operate a GC-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (GC-C-IRMS) which enables compound specific δ 13 C, δ 15 N and δ 2 H value determinations.
We currently operate the following instruments:
- ThermoFisher Trace 1310 Gas Chromatograph with Flame Ionisation Detector (compound separation and quantification)
- ThermoFisher Trace 1310 Gas Chromatograph coupled to a Thermo TSQ8000 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (molecular identification)
- ThermoFisher Trace 1310 Gas Chromatograph coupled to a Thermo Delta V Plus Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (compound specific δ 13 C, δ 15 N and δ 2 H value determinations)
Other operational features include a Thermo Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) system, a Genevac EZ-2 centrifugal evaporation system and a fully outfitted wet chemistry laboratory to undertake a wide variety of sample preparation.
Applications
Recent projects utilising the organic geochemistry facilities include:
- Reconstructing environmental change throughout the geological record
- Carbon cycling in terrestrial and aquatic environments
- Detection and quantification of traditional and emerging contaminants
- Martian biosignatures in terrestrial analogue sites
- Detailing the trophic fingerprint of declining fisheries
- Molecular analysis of organic residues from ancient shipwrecks
- Fatty acid analysis of marine biota
Consultancy work
Characterization of drilling fluids
Key contacts
360° videos below show:
1) Organic Geochemistry Wet Laboratory
2) Organic Geochemistry Analytical Laboratory