Core Instrument Facility

 

The Core Instrumentation Facility is comprised of an array of sophisticated instrumentation for structural analysis of small and macromolecules. The Laboratory is located in Room DV3065 in the Chemical and Physical Sciences Department. The facility has been in operation since 2000 and is the home of many state-of-art instruments, providing support for all researchers at the University of Toronto at Mississauga. The objective of the core facility is to provide equipment and expertise to facilitate the use of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods, microscopy and mass spectrometry in research. Technical support is provided with the aim of training students in instrument operation, as well as design and execution of experiments. Once trained, many of the instruments are available to students on a self-service basis.

Book Instrument Here

Training and Facility Access

Booking Website

Instruments and Fees

Waivers

Policies

Tri-Campus Instrument Facilities

FAQS

 

Training and Facility Access

All training and scheduling inquiries and requests can be made to:

Dr. Peter Mitrakos, Core Facilities Manager 
Phone: 905-828-5442
Fax: 905-828-5425
Email: CPSCoreFacility.UTM@utoronto.ca 

All training requests should be submitted in advance, allow up to 3 business days for response and scheduling. Unfortunately, same-day requests for training can not be accommodated at this time. 

Health and Safety training is a prerequisite for facility access and instrument training. More information can be found on our Health and Safety page. 

Check out training videos for instruments here!

After required trainings are complete, access to the core facility can be requested from the facility manager. 

 

Booking Website

After completion of training, you will be able to book instruments through the following website: https://scheduler.utm.utoronto.ca/nmr

 

Instrument and Fees

Instrument

Hourly Rates ($)

 
 UTM InternalExternal
Chromatography  
Gas Chromatograph with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID)- Perkin Elmer Clarus 5001550
High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) - UV-VIS detector - HP 1100 Series1550
Elemental Analysis  
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) - Thermo Instruments - iCAP 6500 Duo65150
Mass Spectrometry  
Gas Chromatograph with Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) - Shimadzu GCMS-QP2020NX2570
Liquid Chromatograph with Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS) - Waters2575
Liquid Chromatograph with tandem Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS-MS) - Waters Quattro Ultima40120
Microscopy  
Scanning Electron Microscope with Bruker EDX (SEM) - Hitachi SU350050120
Spectroscopy  
Circular Dichroism (CD) Spectrometer - JASCO  J-15002575
Fluorescence Spectrophotometer - Ocean Optics Flame Bundle FL1230
Fluorescence Spectrophotometer - PTI1230
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) - Bruker Alpha T with ATR1545
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) - Thermo Instruments IS-20 with ATR1545
Raman Spectrophotometer - Ocean Optics-QE Pro1030
Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer (UV-vis) - Biochrom Libra S221040
Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer (UV-vis) - Biochrom Ultrospec 3100pro1040
Other  
Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)- Seiko SII 6100515
Dynamic Light Scaterring (DLS) - Malvern Instruments Zetasizer Nano - ZS1540
Electrochemical Workstation - CH Instruments  
Maskless Photolithography - BlackHole Lab Smart Print  
X-ray Diffraction (XRD) - Bruker D2 Phaser1040
Centrifuge - Thermo Scientific Sorval RC6+1040

Waivers

Signed waiver forms should be submitted here.

 

Core Facility Usage Policies

Users must complete instrument specific training before access to an instrument will be granted.

Graduate students, postdocs, research associates and PIs have access to the facility 24/7 via TCard. Please refer to the Working Alone SOP when using the facility with no one around.

Undergraduate students may access the facility during regular business hours, Monday to Friday, when Peter Mitrakos (Core Facility Manager) or Samer Doughan (Lab Coordinator) are available. Undergraduate students who require access to the Core Facility outside of regular working hours must be directly supervised by a trained graduate student, postdoc, research associate or PI.

The CPS Core Instrument Facility provides research-grade instrumentation for the dual purpose of supporting the research community and the Chemistry undergraduate teaching labs. The use of the instruments located in the core facility is subject to appropriate training outlined in Training and Facility Access. Access is a privilege granted with the following conditions: 

  1. Proper use of equipment 
    1. SOPs must be followed
    2. Safe and careful handling of equipment
  2. Equipment bookings must be made in advance of equipment use
  3. Proper attire and personal protective equipment (PPE) are worn at all times in the facility
    1. Long pants, closed-toe shoes
    2. Gloves
    3. Lab coat, as necessary
    4. Goggles, as necessary
  4. Authorized users of the facility only i.e. on sharing of T-Cards or piggybacking on entry. 

Issues arising from violation of these conditions will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined below:

  1. First Infraction - Verbal warning from the Core Facility Manager (can take the form of face-to-face conversation) 
  2. Second Infraction - Written warning from the Core Facility Manager (Manager, Teaching Lab Operations and supervising PI will be copied) 
  3. Third Infraction - Access revoked, with increased length if further incidents occur (User will be informed by email, coping Manager, Teaching Lab Operations and supervising PI)
    1. 1 week 
    2. 1 month
    3. 1 year

Courteous and respectful behavior is required at all times. Rude or inappropriate behavior will be addressed by the Manager, Teaching Laboratory Operations, through email, with an appropriate consequence up to and including permanent loss of access to the Core Facility. 

 

Tri-Campus Instrument Facilities

CPS’ Core Instrument Facility is home to a diverse selection of scientific equipment available to those on the Mississauga campus, however, students on or near the St. George and Scarborough campuses may wish to access similar facilities. On the St. George campus there is ANALEST, AIMS and the Department Analytical Facilities. On the Scarborough campus there is TRACES.

 

FAQs

Can I use the facility after hours?

After completing all required Health & Safety and Instrument specific trainings, graduate students, postdocs, research associates and PIs can use the facility after hours. Please refer to the Working Alone SOP.

Can I use the facility after hours if I am an undergraduate student or volunteer?

Yes, however, undergraduate students and/or volunteers must be supervised at all times after hours by a graduate student, postdoc, research associate or PI from their research lab.

If the instrument is warming up or sitting idle during my booking time, will I be charged for this time?

Yes.

The instrument is not working. What should I do?

Do not attempt to troubleshoot the instrument yourself. Contact Peter Mitrakos, Core Facility Manager at cpscorefacility.utm@utoronto.ca.

If the Core Facility Manger is away, cpscorefacility.utm@utoronto.ca mailbox will be monitored by Samer Doughan.