Laboratory Facilities


The Amino Acid Geochronology laboratory is equipped with an automated St. Johns Associates high pressure liquid chromatography system that can analyze up to 16 samples per day using OPA-fluorescence detection. This system has been in existence since 1988 and is used exclusively for determining the ratio of D-alloisoleucine to L-isoleucine.

In the very near future we plan to begin analyses using a Hewlett-Packard 6890 Series II gas chromatography system equipped with both flame ionization (FID) and flame photometric detectors (FPD) housed in the Biogeochemistry Laboratory of Dr. Emily CoBabe. The installation of an Chiralsil-Val column in tandem with the FID will allow the routine detection of enantiomeric-pairs in mollusks, especially D/L aspartic acid and D/L leucine, commonly used for Quaternary geochronology.


Amino Acid Geochronology Lab Homepage
University of Massachusetts | Department of Geosciences