Application: This instrument is used for the quantification of inorganic contaminants (heavy metals) such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, selenium, copper in various environmental sample matrices such as surface water, sea water, sediment/soil, biological tissue (fish and mussels), and tobacco waste leachate.
Lab Facilities
The SPH’s lab facilities include five rooms in Hardy Memorial Tower.
The lab facilities in Hardy Memorial Tower are dedicated primarily for environmental-analytical work. The analytical capabilities of the SPH laboratories for supporting environmental health research are arguably the most sophisticated and state-of-the-art in the whole San Diego Region.
The laboratories are furnished with sophisticated analytical instruments and equipment shown below in order to analyze trace level of elements and organic compounds in various environmental samples as well as for environmental toxicology research projects.
Agilent Machines
Agilent 7900 Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)
Agilent 7890B Gas chromatograph with 5977A Mass Spectrometer (GC/MSD)
Application: This instrument is used for the quantification of targeted volatile organic contaminants. Our previous research projects with the Agilent GC/MS include but not limited to the measurement of the levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human plasma, breastmilk and human stool samples.
Agilent 6460A Liquid chromatograph Tandem Mass Spectrometer (LC/MS/MS)
Application: It allows the quantification of trace levels of known (targeted) compounds, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, as well as nicotine and its related compounds (e.g. cotinine) in house dust and in human urine samples.
Agilent 6545 Liquid chromatograph Quadrupole/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (LC/Q-TOFMS)
Application: This instrument is used for untargeted sample analysis of environmental samples for a broad range of metabolites and pharmaceuticals. It enables broad screening, comprehensive profiling, and identification of unknowns.
Agilent 7900 Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)
Application: This instrument is used for the quantification of inorganic contaminants (heavy metals) such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, selenium, copper in various environmental sample matrices such as surface water, sea water, sediment/soil, biological tissue (fish and mussels), and tobacco waste leachate.
Agilent 7890B Gas chromatograph with 5977A Mass Spectrometer (GC/MSD)
Application: This instrument is used for the quantification of targeted volatile organic contaminants. Our previous research projects with the Agilent GC/MS include but not limited to the measurement of the levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human plasma, breastmilk and human stool samples.
Agilent 6460A Liquid chromatograph Tandem Mass Spectrometer (LC/MS/MS)
Application: It allows the quantification of trace levels of known (targeted) compounds, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, as well as nicotine and its related compounds (e.g. cotinine) in house dust and in human urine samples.
Agilent 6545 Liquid chromatograph Quadrupole/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (LC/Q-TOFMS)
Application: This instrument is used for untargeted sample analysis of environmental samples for a broad range of metabolites and pharmaceuticals. It enables broad screening, comprehensive profiling, and identification of unknowns.
Agilent 7900 Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)
Application: This instrument is used for the quantification of inorganic contaminants (heavy metals) such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, selenium, copper in various environmental sample matrices such as surface water, sea water, sediment/soil, biological tissue (fish and mussels), and tobacco waste leachate.
Additional Laboratory Machines
Milestone Mercury Analyzer (DMA-80)
Application: This instrument is used to measure the level of mercury directly in both solid and liquid samples. It does not require any digestion of solid or liquid samples before analysis. Previous studies include measurement of mercury level in marine oysters from San Diego Bay and fish from the San Diego River.
Leco Pegasus 4D comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC×GC/TOF-MS)
Application: This instrument is s particularly powerful tool in order to identify non-targeted compounds. Compounds are separated with the unique technology of 2- separate GC columns thus enabling to the identification of compounds that would co-elute by using only one column (in the single quadrupole GC/MS mentioned above). The previous research projects, which have utilized this instrument, include the identification of organic compounds (e.g. PCBs, PBDEs, and PAHs) in dolphin blubber, human breast milk, tobacco leachate, and house dust.
Nikon microscope
The Sant lab uses microscopy and molecular biology techniques to assess the consequences of toxicant exposures. The lab is equipped with a Nikon Ti-2 inverted epifluorescent microscope with deconvolution and advanced imaging software, a Bio-Rad CFX96 thermal cycler, a BioTek Synergy LX fluorescent plate reader, and electrophoresis boxes.
Nikon microscope
The Sant lab uses microscopy and molecular biology techniques to assess the consequences of toxicant exposures. The lab is equipped with a Nikon Ti-2 inverted epifluorescent microscope with deconvolution and advanced imaging software, a Bio-Rad CFX96 thermal cycler, a BioTek Synergy LX fluorescent plate reader, and electrophoresis boxes.
J2 Scientific GPC (PrepLinc cleanup system)
Application: This instrument performs for cleanup of samples, which contains lipids prior to GC/MS analysis. The samples include marine mammal samples, and human sourced materials (e.g. breastmilk samples). It allows the removal of up to 0.5g of lipid in fatty samples using an Express column (50:50 Ethyl acetate/cyclohexane) typically in a time of 25 minutes per sample.
Milestone Mercury Analyzer (DMA-80)
Application: This instrument is used to measure the level of mercury directly in both solid and liquid samples. It does not require any digestion of solid or liquid samples before analysis. Previous studies include measurement of mercury level in marine oysters from San Diego Bay and fish from the San Diego River.
Leco Pegasus 4D comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC×GC/TOF-MS)
Application: This instrument is s particularly powerful tool in order to identify non-targeted compounds. Compounds are separated with the unique technology of 2- separate GC columns thus enabling to the identification of compounds that would co-elute by using only one column (in the single quadrupole GC/MS mentioned above). The previous research projects, which have utilized this instrument, include the identification of organic compounds (e.g. PCBs, PBDEs, and PAHs) in dolphin blubber, human breast milk, tobacco leachate, and house dust.
Nikon microscope
The Sant lab uses microscopy and molecular biology techniques to assess the consequences of toxicant exposures. The lab is equipped with a Nikon Ti-2 inverted epifluorescent microscope with deconvolution and advanced imaging software, a Bio-Rad CFX96 thermal cycler, a BioTek Synergy LX fluorescent plate reader, and electrophoresis boxes.
Nikon microscope
The Sant lab uses microscopy and molecular biology techniques to assess the consequences of toxicant exposures. The lab is equipped with a Nikon Ti-2 inverted epifluorescent microscope with deconvolution and advanced imaging software, a Bio-Rad CFX96 thermal cycler, a BioTek Synergy LX fluorescent plate reader, and electrophoresis boxes.
J2 Scientific GPC (PrepLinc cleanup system)
Application: This instrument performs for cleanup of samples, which contains lipids prior to GC/MS analysis. The samples include marine mammal samples, and human sourced materials (e.g. breastmilk samples). It allows the removal of up to 0.5g of lipid in fatty samples using an Express column (50:50 Ethyl acetate/cyclohexane) typically in a time of 25 minutes per sample.
Milestone Mercury Analyzer (DMA-80)
Application: This instrument is used to measure the level of mercury directly in both solid and liquid samples. It does not require any digestion of solid or liquid samples before analysis. Previous studies include measurement of mercury level in marine oysters from San Diego Bay and fish from the San Diego River.
Laboratory Spaces
Computer Room
14 computers are available for School of Public Health students and faculty members. Several common data packages are pre-installed such as SPSS and SAS (for those who need to use for class assignments and group projects) as well as ArcGIS, and the complete suite of Microsoft Office software.
Workstations (ChromaTOF data analysis)
These perform detailed analysis of the data from the Leco comprehensive two-dimensional GCxGC/TOF-MS. The ChromaTOF software is able to process a large number of chromatographic peaks (most cases 5000-10000 peaks are processed) and to identify compounds based upon a pre-installed library search.
Fish Room
The Sant lab utilizes the zebrafish model to study the impacts of environmental pollutants. This lab uses a fully automated Aquaneering zebrafish habitat with water quality controls as a breeding facility.
Computer Room
14 computers are available for School of Public Health students and faculty members. Several common data packages are pre-installed such as SPSS and SAS (for those who need to use for class assignments and group projects) as well as ArcGIS, and the complete suite of Microsoft Office software.
Workstations (ChromaTOF data analysis)
These perform detailed analysis of the data from the Leco comprehensive two-dimensional GCxGC/TOF-MS. The ChromaTOF software is able to process a large number of chromatographic peaks (most cases 5000-10000 peaks are processed) and to identify compounds based upon a pre-installed library search.
Fish Room
The Sant lab utilizes the zebrafish model to study the impacts of environmental pollutants. This lab uses a fully automated Aquaneering zebrafish habitat with water quality controls as a breeding facility.
Computer Room
14 computers are available for School of Public Health students and faculty members. Several common data packages are pre-installed such as SPSS and SAS (for those who need to use for class assignments and group projects) as well as ArcGIS, and the complete suite of Microsoft Office software.
Contact Us
SDSU School of Public Health
Hardy Tower room 119
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4162
San Diego, CA 92182-4162