Following the donation of an atomic absorption spectrometer last summer, ICON, plc, has again added to the instrumentation capability of the Taylor Science Center by donating two Agilent 1100 High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) systems.
These instruments will allow Hamilton faculty and student researchers to separate and then detect trace levels of a variety of molecules of interest in complex mixtures. The included autosampler will allow for unattended overnight operation.
The instruments will be used heavily throughout the Chemistry Department curriculum and research labs. They will be particularly valuable to the Chem 125 student-led independent projects focusing on the detection and quantitation of small molecule toxicants in consumer products and environmental sources. They will also be useful in analyzing the products of chemical syntheses and monitoring complex biological and biochemical systems.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Angela Blum said, “Our research program is interested in developing materials - peptides, polymers and nanoparticles- that can manipulate the behavior or viability of bacterial cells.
“The Agilent HPLCs will be critical to this work as they will be used to characterize our materials and to profile reaction kinetics in our biological assays. In the short term, this instrument will be heavily used by four senior thesis students, but we anticipate heavy use by many future generations of students.”
Faculty and students conducting biological and neurochemical analyses are also expected to utilize the HPLCs.
The donation was coordinated by Hamilton’s Instrumentation Specialist and Lecturer in Chemistry Greg Rahn with Systems Analyst Robert Kulawy and Managing Director Michael Brown of ICON.
ICON, plc, a worldwide contract research organization for pharmaceutical discovery and development has a laboratory located in nearby Whitesboro, N.Y.
