Our lab is equipped with a multitude of instruments employed to characterize environmental samples from different analytical perspectives. Additional departmental and COSMIC instruments are also available for our routine research applications. 

Instruments in the Hatcher Lab

(New Chemistry Building 3004 & 3006)

Shimadzu TOC/TN Analyzer

This is a standard Shimadzu analyzer for quantifying total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The instrument is also equipped with a module for quantifying total dissolved nitrogen (TDN). This is a key instrument for most research projects as we quantify the amount of dissolved organic matter in samples based on the amounts of DOC present.

Relevant Publications:

• Stubbins, A.; Dittmar, T., Low volume quantification of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved nitrogen. Limnology and Oceanography-Methods 2012, 10 (5), 347-352.
• Chen, H. M.; Stubbins, A.; Perdue, E. M.; Green, N. W.; Helms, J. R.; Mopper, K.; Hatcher, P. G., Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometric differentiation of dissolved organic matter isolated by coupled reverse osmosis-electrodialysis from various major oceanic water masses. Marine Chemistry 2014, 164, 48-59.
• Whitty, S. D.; Waggoner, D. C.; Cory, R. M.; Kaplan, L. A.; Hatcher, P. G., Direct noninvasive (1) H NMR analysis of stream water DOM: Insights into the effects of lyophilization compared with whole water. Magn Reson Chem 2021, 59 (5), 540-553.

SUNTEST Solar Simulator

This equipment produces simulated tropospheric sunlight for photochemical experiments. The radiation is stronger than the sun allowing for simulating long-term sunlight exposure (weeks to months) in short experiments (days to weeks).

Gas Chromatographs

We have two gas chromatographs (one HP, one Agilent) providing chromatographic separation of volatile analytes in mixtures. Both instruments are equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID), which is non-selective detector allowing for the detection of nearly all carbon-containing organic compounds. It also has a linear dynamic range that extends over five orders of magnitude making these instruments excellent for quantification of various compounds. We have used these instruments extensively for characterizing petroleum, bio-diesel and other bio-fuels, solvent extracts of organic matter, etc.

Relevant Publications

• Hartman, B. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Hydrothermal liquefaction of isolated cuticle of Agave americana and Capsicum annuum: Chemical characterization of petroleum-like products. Fuel 2015, 156, 225-233.
• Obeid, W.; Salmon, E.; Hatcher, P. G., The effect of different isolation procedures on algaenan molecular structure in Scenedesmus green algae. Organic Geochemistry 2014, 76, 259-269.
• Hartman, B. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Valuable Crude Oil from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of an Aliphatic Coal. Energy & Fuels 2014, 28 (12), 7538-7551.

HP 6890 GC with a Gerstel Preparative Fraction Collector

This GC system is equipped with a fraction collector that allows for isolating of up to 6 volatile components of a complex mixture. Because GC can resolve peaks very well compounds can be isolated with high selectivity. The injector is specially designed to accommodate large injection volumes. This system has been previously used for isolation of unknown by-product species from water treatment, known or unknown TMAH thermochemolysis products, or other target species (e.g., PAHs). The isolates can then be analyzed via NMR, MS, and/or GC-MS for structural determination or sent out for isotopic analysis (δ¹³C, ∆¹⁴C).

Leco Pegasus 4D GCxGC-TOF mass spectrometer

This fast GC-MS is one of the workhorses of the lab. Equipped with a Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometer, it can sample up to 500 spectra a second. Modern deconvolution methods allow it to find clean mass spectra in complex matrices, not to mention crowded, chromatograms. It also has a very high sensitivity and good mass accuracy. It is used to quantify known compounds in environmental samples (various biomarkers such as alkanes, fatty acids, hopanes, etc.), identify novel contaminants such as petroleum or charcoal degradation products, quantify methylated products after TMAH thermochemolysis preparation, and perform semi-quantitative evaluation of organic macromolecules after different digestions. When necessary, we employ various derivatizations (TMAH, BF3-MeOH, BSTFA, etc.) or utilize specific methods such as as solid-phase microextraction (SPME).

Relevant Publications:

• Hartman, B. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Valuable Crude Oil from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of an Aliphatic Coal. Energy & Fuels 2014, 28 (12), 7538-7551.
• Smith, C. R.; Hatcher, P. G.; Kumar, S.; Lee, J. W., Investigation into the Sources of Biochar Water-Soluble Organic Compounds and Their Potential Toxicity on Aquatic Microorganisms. Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2016, 4 (5), 2550-2558.
• Waggoner, D. C.; Wozniak, A. S.; Cory, R. M.; Hatcher, P. G., The role of reactive oxygen species in the degradation of lignin derived dissolved organic matter. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 2017, 208, 171-184.
• Tadini, A. M.; Goranov, A. I.; Martin-Neto, L.; Bernardi, A. C. C.; Oliveira, P. P. A.; Pezzopane, J. R. M.; Hatcher, P. G., Structural characterization using 2D NMR spectroscopy and TMAH-GC x GC-MS: Application to humic acids from soils of an integrated agricultural system and an Atlantic native forest. Sci Total Environ 2022, 815, 152605.

Shimadzu HPLC

This is a standard Shimadzu Prominence-series HPLC system equipped with two binary pumps, a degasser, autosampler, two column ovens, fraction collector, and photo diode array (PDA), fluorescence, and evaporative light scattering (ELSD) detectors. This instrument is designed for analytical characterization of dissolved organic matter, separation and quantification of target analytes (amino acids, pigments, PAHs, sugars, BPCAs), preparative purification of synthesized compounds, or fractionation of environmental samples.

Relevant Publications:

• Liu, Z. F.; Sleighter, R. L.; Zhong, J. Y.; Hatcher, P. G., The chemical changes of DOM from black waters to coastal marine waters by HPLC combined with ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S. 2011, 92 (2), 205-216.
• McKee, G. A.; Kobiela, M. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Effect of Michael adduction on peptide preservation in natural waters. Environmental science. Processes & impacts 2014, 16 (9), 2087-97.
• Waggoner, D. C.; Hatcher, P. G., Hydroxyl radical alteration of HPLC fractionated lignin: Formation of new compounds from terrestrial organic matter. Organic Geochemistry 2017, 113, 315-325.
• Tadini, A. M.; Martin-Neto, L.; Goranov, A. I.; Milori, D. M. B. P.; Bernardi, A. C. C.; Oliveira, P. P. A.; Pezzopane, J. R. M.; Colnago, L. A.; Hatcher, P. G., Chemical characteristics of soil organic matter from integrated agricultural systems in southeastern Brazil. European Journal of Soil Science 2022, 73 (1), 1-18.

Deukum large electrodialysis system

Electrodialysis is a good method to remove electrolytes from aqueous solutions without having to extract samples (C18, PPL, XAD, etc.) or subject samples to unnatural pH conditions (e.g., humic extraction using pH=12 NaOH) . The Deukum type 320 electrodialysis module consists of 65 standard ion-exchange membranes (32AMX, 33CMX), with an effective membrane area of 320 cm² per membrane. It has 32 cell pairs (thickness 0.5 mm) and a total membrane area of 1 m². This system can be used to desalt large volumes of DOM (e.g., oceanic waters) without significant loss of DOC. When coupled with reverse osmosis it can concentrate enough amount of DOM from fresh waters and seawater for mass spectrometry and NMR analysis.

Relevant Publications:

• Green, N. W.; Perdue, E. M.; Aiken, G. R.; Butler, K. D.; Chen, H. M.; Dittmar, T.; Niggemann, J.; Stubbins, A., An intercomparison of three methods for the large-scale isolation of oceanic dissolved organic matter. Marine Chemistry 2014, 161, 14-19.
• Chen, H. M.; Stubbins, A.; Perdue, E. M.; Green, N. W.; Helms, J. R.; Mopper, K.; Hatcher, P. G., Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometric differentiation of dissolved organic matter isolated by coupled reverse osmosis-electrodialysis from various major oceanic water masses. Marine Chemistry 2014, 164, 48-59.

Harvard Apparatus mini-electrodialysis (mini-ED) system

This system was originally designed for the rapid purification of proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and other biomolecules. It has a capacity of 1.5 mL. We have optimized this method for desalting environmental samples that do not need pre-concentration (e.g., brackish river waters, base extracts, etc).

Relevant publications:

• Chen, H. M.; Stubbins, A.; Hatcher, P. G., A mini-electrodialysis system for desalting small volume saline samples for Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Limnology and Oceanography-Methods 2011, 9 (12), 582-592.

Elemental analyzer with TCD and IRMS detectors

A standard Thermo FlashEA instrument designed for determining CHNS content in samples as well as determining δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N. The instrument operates by combusting particulate samples at high temperature to produce CO₂, H₂O, N₂, and SO₂. The yields of these gases are measured by the thermal conductivity detector (TCD) to quantitatively determine the elemental composition of the sample.  The CO₂ and N₂ can be also routed to the In-Process isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) (ESD 100) which determines the ratios of ¹³C to ¹²C as well as the ratios of ¹⁵N to ¹⁴N using a quadrupole-based mass spectrometer. We have used this instrument to characterize an array of samples (algae, soils, sediments, humic/fulvic acids, DOM, PPL extracts, charcoals, aerosol filters, cuticles, synthetic inorganic/organic compounds, etc.)

Relevant publications:

• Tadini, A. M.; Martin-Neto, L.; Goranov, A. I.; Milori, D. M. B. P.; Bernardi, A. C. C.; Oliveira, P. P. A.; Pezzopane, J. R. M.; Colnago, L. A.; Hatcher, P. G., Chemical characteristics of soil organic matter from integrated agricultural systems in southeastern Brazil. European Journal of Soil Science 2022, 73 (1), 1-18.
• Hartman, B. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Hydrothermal liquefaction of isolated cuticle of Agave americana and Capsicum annuum: Chemical characterization of petroleum-like products. Fuel 2015, 156, 225-233.
• Kumar, S.; Hablot, E.; Moscoso, J. L. G.; Obeid, W.; Hatcher, P. G.; DuQuette, B. M.; Graiver, D.; Narayan, R.; Balan, V., Polyurethanes preparation using proteins obtained from microalgae. Journal of Materials Science 2014, 49 (22), 7824-7833.
• Hartman, B. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Valuable Crude Oil from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of an Aliphatic Coal. Energy & Fuels 2014, 28 (12), 7538-7551.

PS3 automated peptide synthesizer

Benchtop instrument that we use to custom synthesize virtually any peptide we wish, incorporating labeled amino acids if we so desire. It supports Fmoc and t-Boc coupling techniques without instrument modification. We’ve previously used it for synthesizing 15N/13C-labeled and unlabeled peptides for testing the fate of peptides in various environmental settings.

Relevant publications:

• McKee, G. A.; Kobiela, M. E.; Hatcher, P. G., Effect of Michael adduction on peptide preservation in natural waters. Environmental science. Processes & impacts 2014, 16 (9), 2087-97.
• Liu, Z. F.; Kobiela, M. E.; McKee, G. A.; Tang, T. T.; Lee, C.; Mulholland, M. R.; Hatcher, P. G., The effect of chemical structure on the hydrolysis of tetrapeptides along a river-to-ocean transect: AVFA and SWGA. Marine Chemistry 2010, 119 (1-4), 108-120.

Other equipment

In addition to the major instrumentation described above, the wet lab (2,000 ft²) is well
equipped with various other tools: analytical balances, pH meters, drying ovens, a temperature-controlled protein hydrolyzer, various rotary evaporators, muffle furnaces, vacuum pumps, ultrasonic baths, shaker tables, high quality water (low DOC deionized and distilled), stills for obtaining high purity solvents, stainless steel hoods, centrifuges, heating/refrigerated cooling baths, assorted glassware, etc. Several common-use freeze-driers are available for lyophilizing samples.