Proposal Support

Users are encouraged to budget for equipment enhancements that will further their research as well as instrument use time and technical support for advanced research tasks. 

Below are some language examples to be used in your proposals; please feel free to adapt the text to suit application requirements. We have additional resources for advanced capabilities for each instrument for your reference.

Chemical Advanced Resolution Methods (ChARM) Laboratory 

The Chemical Advanced Resolution Methods (ChARM) Laboratory is a University shared facility. ChARM houses advanced research instrumentation for chromatographic separations; soft ionization mass spectrometry measurements, including ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry measurements; and spectroscopic analyses.  

The central mission of ChARM is to provide advanced resolution measurements to enable academic research and advanced knowledge of environmental and biological complex mixtures.

To achieve this we provide:

  • Superior training through coursework, group, and one-on-one training by skilled lab personnel to ensure efficient equipment use that minimizes wasted funds and time,
  • Non-profit operation, with use fees to cover facility maintenance and operations,
  • A core inventory of sample preparation and common consumable supplies covered by use fees,
  • Best standards and practices are adopted to help researchers achieve reproducible results and journal quality images, and 
  • A safe and friendly working environment.

The ChARM ultrahigh resolution Orbitrap Elite Mass Spectrometer (Orbitrap Elite MS, Thermo Scientific) was purchased with NSF MRI grant AGS-1531454. This 3rd generation Orbitrap instrument features a compact high field Orbitrap mass analyzer for faster scan times and higher resolving power (R = 240,000 at m/z 400 with 1 sec acquisition). An optional Developer’s Kit has been installed to provide enhanced resolving power with R = 480,000 at m/z 400. The Orbitrap Elite MS can be coupled to a Dionex UltiMate 3000 (Thermo Scientific) ultrahigh pressure two-dimensional LC system for LC/HRMS/MS methods.

In addition, ChARM houses several, three additional mass spectrometers to support LC/MS applications (LCQ Fleet MS, Thermo Scientific), GC/MS applications (ITQ 1100 GC-Ion Trap MS, Thermo Scientific), and elemental analyses (ELEMENT 2 ICP-MS, Thermo Scientific). The LCQ Fleet MS can be used with electrospray ionization or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for analysis of positive or negative ions. LCQ Fleet MS can also be coupled to an Accela (Thermo Scientific) ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography system for LC/MS analyses. The ITQ 1100 feature advanced MS/MS functions, external electron ionization, positive ion and negative ion chemical ionization, quantitation, and spectral consistency range to the femtogram level, allowing identification and quantification of a wide range of volatile compounds. The ELEMENT 2 is capable of rapidly measuring elemental and isotopic composition of heavy elements (metals) in tissues, water, soils and sediments.

ChARM houses a Biovision Laser Spinning Disk Confocal/TIRF Imaging System with Nikon optics and three laser wavelengths selectable through an AOTF (488, 561, and 647). The spinning disk arm has a Yokogawa CSU-X1 spinning disc confocal head with Borealis modification for flat illumination and more efficient light collection. The reflected light from SD Confocal is acquired by the ORCA-Flash sCMOS camera. The TIRF arm uses the three laser sources by manually switching the optical fiber of the laser to the TIRF illumination system. Reflected lights from the TIRF are also acquired by the same ORCA-Flash sCMOS camera using manual brightfield bypass module for Yokogawa. The scope is fully enclosed in an Okolab stage-top incubation system with temperature and CO2 control designed for imaging mammalian cells. The system runs on Metamorph software.