The University of Northern British Columbia is

home to an extensive suite of analytical science

instrumentation that enables a broad spectrum of

biological, chemical and physical analyses.

In the near future, UNBC will be making these

services available to the private, public and

non-profit sectors to help meet their

research, development and quality

assurance needs through the Northern

Analytical Laboratory Service.

Unique analytical capabilities in Northern BC

NORTHERN ANALYTICAL LABORATORY SERVICE

Industry Leadership & Collaboration

UNBC is one of the most research-intensive universities in Canada, which has led to world-class leadership in areas such as natural resources and the environment; rural, remote and northern health; and the sustainability of communities.

- Western Economic Development

With access to some of the top experts and student

researchers in northern BC, the Northern Analytical

Laboratory Service will build mutually beneficial

partnerships with local industries.

From testing specific project samples, to providing services

for an entire industry or sector, the Northern Analytical

Laboratory Service will be able to assist external clients

in the development of solutions to a variety of analytical

problems.

Petroleum polluted soil/water sediments are analyzed by Dr. Quanji Wu, Analytical Support Specialist at the Northern Analytical Laboratory Service using the Gas Chromatograph.

Mark Barnes, a Master of Science in Biochemistry student at UNBC, working with a real-time PCR machine for gene expression analysis.

Meeting Academic & Societal DemandsUNBC students and researchers have been working with

a variety of analytical laboratory equipment for about two

decades through the Central Equipment Laboratory (CEL).

The UNBC Northern Analytical Laboratory Service has a

mission to contribute to the development and application

of sound, well-documented science-based knowledge

to support faculty research and client based analytical

services. The NALS is committed to providing analytical

services, the pursuit and advancement of scientific

knowledge, and the training of students aimed at creating

highly qualified professionals capable of contributing to

industry in their future careers.

Thanks to a $1.09 million Western Economic Diversification/UNBC investment, UNBC is purchasing more than 22 new and renewed pieces of high-performance equipment and is expanding analytical services to initiate the UNBC Northern Analytical

Laboratory Service (UNBC-NALS).

The NALS is committed to offering solutions for community

analytical problems. This locally available service will

benefit industry, particularly in the water management,

mining, forestry and bioenergy sectors, and allow their

projects to proceed on time and on budget.

Research & Educational DevelopmentOne of our goals is to make the lab’s services more responsive to the needs of researchers and corporate clients throughout Northern BC.

As a state-of-the-art education and research facility,

the Nothern Analytical Laboratory Service will develop

analytical methodologies at UNBC for both students and

external clients.

The facility’s Analytical Support Specialists regularly

participate in research activities to develop and validate

new analytical methods. UNBC representatives are

available to provide sound advice in the selection of

analytical methods for clients in a wide spectrum of

industries.

In addition to analytical services, the equipment and

resources available through the Northern Analytical

Laboratory Service will be used for academic and

skills training for UNBC students. Training services are

also available for clients who may wish to improve the

knowledge and skills of their staff in their own labs.

Quality & Reliable AnalysesThe Northern Analytical Laboratory Service will operate

a Quality Assurance System in accordance with ISO/IEC

17025-2005 protocols and is in the process of seeking

accreditation through SCC, CALA and EWQA for their

numerous analytical tests. They also will be participating

in a wide range of annual proficiency testing programs to

confirm that the analytical systems and methodologies used

are accurate and precise.

NORTHERN ANALYTICAL LABORATORY SERVICE

A microwave digestion unit setup training session. The microwave unit is required to prepare soil, plant and sediment samples for metal ion analysis.

Allan Esler, Analytical Support Specialist, uses the Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometer to analyze water and soil/sediment extracts for metal ions.

Soil sieving to separate particle size fractions in preparation for mineral analysis.

Contact:Dr. Francis AppohAnalytical Chemistry Services Manager (Lab Manager)

Office: UNBC Room 4-332Phone: 250-960-6650Email: appoh@unbc.ca

EXPANDING ANALYTICAL SERVICES

SOILS/ENVIRONMENT• Total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur analysss• pH (water and/or calcium chloride) analysss• Available phosphorus assessment• Soil conductivity testing• Sulphate-sulphur analysis• Ammonium and nitrate nitrogen analysis• Moisture, loss on ignition (soil organic matter content) analyses• Petroleum hydrocarbons in waste waters, soils, sediments,

waste materials assessment• BOD/COD assessment• Percentage sand/silt/clay assessment• Microwave-assisted acid digestion• ICP-MS metal ion scan

PLANT TISSUES/WOOD• Microwave-assisted acid digestion/ICP-MS metal ion scan• Nitrogen, carbon and sulphur assessment• Total non-structural carbohydrates, acid-detergent fibre, wood

proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, heating value determination, ash and woodchip characterization

• Sulphates in plant tissue assessment

WATER• Water quality tests (TSS, VSS, TDS)• Total soluble N and P tests• Total organic carbon test• Anion scans• Cation scans• Conductivity tests

MATERIAL SCIENCE• Microstructure and compositional analysis of a wide variety of

materials, including minerals and rocks, clays, sand, limestone, gravels, cement, and powders

MICROBIOLOGY/MOLECULAR BIOLOGY/GENETICS• Routine microbiological testing• Standard plate count tests• Coliforms/E. coli test• Soil and Water tests• DNA extraction• PCR amplification• DNA sequencing• Fragment analysis• Gene expression

EQUIPMENT EXPANSION

• Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)

• Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometer (LA-ICP/MS)

• High-Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC)

• Ion Chromatograph (IC)

• Gas-Chromatograph/ Gas-Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC, GC-MS)

• Auto Ion Analysis System

• Combustion Elemental Analyzers (Automatic C, N, S analyzer)

• pH/Ion and Conductivity meters, DO meters and COD meters

• X-Ray Diffractometer

• Laser Particle Size Analyzer

• Bomb Calorimeter

• Capillary Electrophoresis with Genome GeXP for Gene Expression

• Real Time PCR

• Colony Counters

• BOD Incubator

• High-Pressure Microwave Digesters

• Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometer

• TOC Analyzer

www.unbc.ca/nals