Facilities

Biosafety level Cell Culture/Tissue Culture Laboratory

Approximately 150 square feet equipped with 3 single laminar flow hoods, 3 CO2 incubators and, cryogenic storage, an inverted microscope and a multirotor tabletop centrifuge. In an adjacent space, a new autoclave with clean steam is available for sterilizing research materials and waste.

Microbiology Laboratory

The Microbiology laboratory is 900 sq. ft. and is equipped with two electronic balances, four incubators (one shaking, one CO2), refrigerator, hybridization oven, microcentrifuge, electroporator, DNA and protein electrophoresis equipment, power supplies, UV crosslinker, dry ovens, light microscopes, spectrophotometer, pH meter, DNA and protein gel imaging system, low temperature freezer, thermal cycler, hot plates, rockers, and vortexers.

Biotechnology Center

Approximately 1000ft2 including a dark room, and microscopy room. Equipped with various DNA and protein electrophoretic equipment, eight thermocyclers (including a specialized in situ PCR thermocycler), autoclave, microinjector, fluorescent microscope, inverted microscope, rotovap, Coulter counter, ELISA plate reader, infrared CO2 incubator, UV/Vis spectrophotometer, two visible range spectrophotometers, incubators, shaking water baths, tabletop centrifuge with swinging bucket and fixed angle rotor system, microcentrifuges, DNA sequencing gel equipment, sonicator and water distiller/deionizer, an ultra low temperature freezer two table-top centrifuges with multi-buckets and two ABI automated DNA sequencers including a single channel 310 model and a 4 channel 3100 model capillary unit.

DNA Sequencing and Genetic Analysis Core Facility

The facility provides DNA sequence and genotyping service and consultation for the HBCU colleges and the community of Orangeburg and nearby counties. The facility is currently equipped with an ABI 3100 Genetic Analyzer, a real-time PCR, a thermal cycler, and a Mac G5 workstation.

Molecular Biology/Biochemistry Student Research Lab

Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology Laboratory

Approximately 400sqft lab equipped with two double laminar flow hoods, two plant growth chambers, a chemical hood, two incubators, one high temperature oven, one refrigerated oven with both shaking and stationary shelves facility, one refrigerator / freezer, one thermocycler, various size DNA gel apparatus and power supplies, three dissection microscopes, one compound microscope, shaking water baths, tabletop centrifuge with swinging bucket and fixed angle rotor system for low and high speed centrifuging, a new autoclave with clean steam, a pH meter, several balances, three open air shakers, and an HPLC with RI detector. In addition, we also have an anaerobic hood and chamber for conducting research on anaerobes.

Molecular Sciences Research Laboratory

The Claflin University Molecular Science Research Center has been designated a Research Core Facility Core Research Facility for the state by the South Carolina Research Authority because of specialized analytical equipment in the Molecular Science Research Center. Claflin has the second largest NMR in the state of South Carolina, 700 MHz Bruker NMR. Here is some of the high end equipment you would get to use and be trained on.

Single-crystal X-Ray Diffraction

Single-crystal X-Ray Diffraction is a non-destructive analytical technique which provides detailed information about the exact atomic structure and spacing in molecules and is essential in understanding how and why molecules work.

Powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

Powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) is a rapid analytical technique primarily used for examining the molecular structure of compounds. It gets its name because the analyzed material is finely ground.

700 MHz NMR

This German-built magnet is one of the most advanced instruments on the planet. The in-depth scans and resonance allows for clearer and more concise pictures and structures of compounds. It is one of the largest NMRs with one of the strongest supermagnets in the state of South Carolina and allows for high precision data collection on the structure of individual molecules and even the composition of complex mixtures of molecules. This device is increasingly used in the field of metabolomics which can analyze many metabolites of the body or cells simultaneously.

300 MHz NMR

This guy is the workhorse NMR used by students and faculty to analyze compounds synthesized in the labs or islated from the environment. NMR is one of the most powerful techniques that allow you to determine not only the structure of a molecule but its dynamic behaviour as well. Students are taught the basics of NMR technology on this device.

ESR

ESR is a technique for studying chemical species that have one or more unpaired electrons, such as organic and inorganic free radicals or inorganic complexes possessing a transition metal ion. The basic physical concepts of EPR are analogous to those of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), but it is electron spins that are excited instead of spins of atomic nuclei.

X-Ray Fluorescence

The X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) method is so versatile, that in addition to measuring coating thickness, it offers a fast, simple and unskilled analysis of plating solutions and other materials. This equipment provides a faster more efficient measure of the concentration of ions than titration.

Hitachi F-7000 Fluorescent Spectrophotometer

The application of fluorophotometry has been expanded to various fields such as industrial materials, in areas such as organic electroluminescence and liquid crystals; environment-related areas, such as water quality analysis; pharmaceutical manufacturing, such as the synthesis and development of a fluorescence reagent; and to biotechnology-related areas, such as intracellular calcium concentration measurement.

Cary 100 Uv-Visible Spectophotometer by Agilent

The Cary 100 is a UV-visible spectrophotometer with a versatile set of accessories for routine laboratory work. It is controlled by the Cary WinUV software, a Windows-based software featuring an easy-to-use modular design. The instrument is equipped with liquid sample holders and is fitted with a wide range of accessories to provide extra capabilities.

TA Instruments Q600 Thermal Analyzer

The Q600 provides simultaneous measurement of weight change and differential heat flow on the same sample from ambient temperatures to up to 1,500 ˚C! It features a horizontal dual beam design with automatic beam growth compensation, and the ability to analyze two samples simultaneously.

Bruker Daltonics Liquid Chromotographic Mass Spectrometer

This device is essential to many fields of research. It allows you to take a complex mixture and separate its components and measure their masses at the same time. By slowly breaking down an unknown compound chemically, you can use an LC-Mass Spec to even determine its initial composition. This can be used in a variety of research including Food and Product Safety Assessment, Forensics, Environmental Analysis, Clinical/Toxicology Testing, Pharmaceutical Analysis, Chemical Analysis, Polymer Analysis, Petroleum Analysis.

Bruker Optics Vertex 70 FTIR

There are many ways to analyze an unknown or new compound. Some tell you about molecular structure, others about atomic movements. This FTIR can do both. Keying in on certain types of chemical bonds this is a powerful tool in verification and exploration of new compounds created in our research.