Organic Analytical and Nutrient Laboratory (OANL) - GLIER

University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario
What the facility does

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic volatile/semi-volatile contaminants and nutrients on environmental samples

Areas of expertise

The Organic Analysis Nutrient Laboratory (OANL) offers qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic volatile/semi-volatile contaminants and nutrients from environmental samples and has the distinction of housing one of the few university-based environmental analytical laboratories in Canada accredited by the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation (CALA) to International Standards of Performance ISO/IEC 17025:2017. The OANL is a University of Windsor Central Facility laboratory located at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER). Other Central Facility labs at GLIER include the Centre for Advanced Microscopy and Materials Characterization, the Environmental Genomics Facility and the Element and Heavy Isotope Analytical Laboratories.

Research services
  • Environmental analysis
  • Analysis of chemicals in trace levels from environmental and biological samples
  • Ground and surface water analysis including soil extracts
  • Teaching/training
Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Chemical industries
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Mining, minerals and metals
Specialized labEquipmentFunction
 Agilent Gas Chromatograph 7890B coupled with 5977B Inert Plus MSD Turbo molecular pump with EI Extractor and CI ion sources with PCI and NCI acquisition modes
  • Sensitive and robust Gas Chromatograph/Mass Selective Detector (GC/MSD)
  • Identifies and quantifies chemicals in trace levels in samples
  • Mass range 1.6–1,050 amu
  • Operating software: MassHunter
 

HP Capillary GC-MSD 6890/5973 equipped with 7673 auto sampler, with quadrupole analyser

 

  • Trace level analyses of volatiles and semi-volatile compounds such as PCBs, Organochlorine Pesticides, PAHs, PBDEs and other chemicals in samples
  • Mass range 1.6 - 800 amu
 

Agilent Gas Chromatograph 7890A with micro ECD/FID Detectors

 

  • High sensitivity and low detection limits due to 10 times smaller detector zone volume. Highly efficient for electronegative compounds.
  • Operated by Agilent CHEMSTATION data analysis software
 Agilent Gas Chromatograph 6890N with Time of Flight (ToF) Waters GCT Premier micro mass MS TechnologiesHigh Resolution MS with an elevating resolving power 7000 FWHM, accurate mass measurements
 Westco SMARTCHEM 170 Discrete Analyzer
  • Automated wet chemistry analyzer, equipped with a Nitrate module, fully automated and controlled by SMARTSTART software
  • Capable of performing analytical tests on up to 170 samples per hour
  • Determines nutrient concentrations in water and soil extracts by applying EPA approved methods

Nutrient Analysis Lab

 

Shimadzu TOC-L Analyzer with Total Nitrogen (TN) and Solid State (SS) modules
  • Total Organic Carbon Analyzer High-Sensitivity Model (TOC-L)
  • Measures the amount of Total Carbon, Organic Carbon, Inorganic Carbon, NonPurgeable Organic Carbon using oxidative combustion-infrared method
  • Determine the amount of Total Nitrogen in water using oxidative combustion-luminescence detector
FluorometryHoriba AquaLog Spectrometer
  • Combines both fluorescence and absorbance measurements simultaneously with matching optical bandpass resolution
  • Capable of generating a matrix file of excitation wavelength, emission wavelength and fluorescence intensity providing a unique fingerprint characteristic of the chemical components in a sample
FluorometryTrilogy Laboratory FluorometerAnalyze fluorescence (e.g. chlorophyll and phycocyanine), absorbance, and turbidity properties of natural water samples
  • Environment Canada
  • Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (Ontario)
  • Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (Ontario)
  • U.S. Geological Survey
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Michigan Technological University
  • Trent University
TitleURL
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER)https://www.uwindsor.ca/glier/
Testing sewage to see community infection levelshttps://www.innovation.ca/story/testing-sewage-see-community-infection-levels