A lab technician in safety gear places a sample into a piece of lab equipment

Organics Division

The Organics Division identifies and quantifies trace organic compounds in water, soil, sediment, and tissue at the part-per-billion (ppb) and part-per-trillion (ppt) level using standard EPA and NOAA methods as well as CESE-developed methods.

Laboratory scientists are highly experienced in the development and validation of custom methods to meet the needs of special projects. This laboratory is certified by the Connecticut Department of Public Health for the analysis of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in drinking waters and persistent pollutants in biological tissue.  

Recent projects supported by the Organics Division include:

  • Determination of concentrations of PFAS in finfish, shellfish, water, and plankton using EPA and in-house developed methods.
  • Detection and quantitation of bio-active compounds such as furanocoumarins, neurotransmitters, and environmental estrogens in complex matrices, including food, water, soil, and biological tissues (blood, urine, saliva, hair).
  • Quantitation of harmful algal toxins including microcystins, domoic acid, brevetoxin, and saxitoxin, in water, filters, and biological tissues.
  • Developing novel analytical methods supporting rapid responses to emerging threats on commercial shellfisheries.

Some of our clients and collaborators include:

  • Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • U.S. Geological Survey
  • KX Technologies
  • Florida Atlantic University
  • Connecticut Department of Agriculture

Available Instrumentation

Instruments

Use
SCIEX X500R Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatograph equipped with a Quadrupole Time-of-Flight High Resolution Mass Spectrometer (QToF-HRMS) To identify and quantify trace level concentrations of pharmaceuticals, contaminants in personal care products, and other non-traditional organic contaminants and bioactive compounds and chemicals in a variety of matrices. Also used to determine PFAS concentrations in various matrices at PPT levels.
Waters Acquity Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatograph (UPLC) equipped with:
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometer (MS/MS)
  • Photodiode Array Detector (PDA)
  • Evaporative Light Scattering Detector (ELSD)
  • Fluorescence Detector (FLR)
 To identify and quantify trace level concentrations of pharmaceuticals, contaminants in personal care products, and other non-traditional organic contaminants and bioactive compounds and chemicals in a variety of matrices. Also used to determine PFAS concentrations in various matrices at PPT levels.
Agilent Gas Chromatograph-Tandem Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS/MS) 7890B/7000C-TQ To determine concentrations of volatile and semi-volatile compounds in a variety of matrices. To identify and quantify trace level concentrations of pesticides, PCBs, PBDEs, PAHs and other organic contaminant in a variety of matrices.
Agilent Gas Chromatograph Coupled with Mass Spectrometry 7890B/5977A MSD To determine concentrations of volatile and semi-volatile compounds in a variety of matrices. To identify and quantify trace level concentrations of pesticides, PCBs, PBDEs, PAHs and other organic contaminant in a variety of matrices.
Agilent Gas Chromatograph Coupled with Mass Spectrometry and Teledyne/Tekmar ATOMX XYZ Purge and Trap To determine concentrations of volatile and semi-volatile compounds in a variety of matrices.
Waters Quattro Micro Gas Chromatograph-Tandem Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS/MS) To determine concentrations of volatile and semi-volatile compounds in a variety of matrices. To identify and quantify trace level concentrations of pesticides, PCBs, PBDEs, PAHs and other organic contaminant in a variety of matrices.
Perkin-Elmer Series LC300 High Performance Liquid Chromatograph equipped with Photodiode Array and Fluorescence Detectors (HPLC/PDA/FLR) To determine concentrations of cannabinoids and other organic compounds in a variety of matrices.
Perkin-Elmer Clarus 580 GC w/ Flame Ionization Detector (FID) To identify and quantify petroleum-based compounds and chemicals and trace level concentrations of pesticides, PCBs, PBDEs, PAHs and other organic contaminant in a variety of matrices.
Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer, Thermo Fisher-Nicolet iN10, with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) plate with various on-board IR libraries To acquire and analyze chemical images to and determine the chemical distribution of materials in heterogeneous samples
OI Autoprep Gel Permeation Chromatograph To remove impurities from the extraction process
Dionex Automated Solvent Extractor (ASE) To extract solid samples for analysis
Organimation Nitrogen Blow-Down Concentrator To concentrate sample extracts
Genevac EZ-2 Automated Evaporator To concentrate sample extracts