University of Pittsburgh

Contact Info:

Joel Gillespie

219 Parkman Ave

311 Chevron Science Center

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

https://researchservices.pitt.edu/facilities/materials-characterization-lab

Grants and Identifiers:

RRID: RRID:SCR_025127

Instrumentation:

Services Provided:

Atomic Force Spectroscopy

FT-IR

HPLC

HPLC-UV

Lyophilization

Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)

Optical Spectroscopy

Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Shared Instrumentation Oversight & Maintenance

Spectroscopy

Relevant Publications:

1.) Shiby E, Sun R, Bloom BP, Albro JA, Sun D, Waldeck DH (2025 Oct 7). Interplay between Chiro-Optical and Spin Transport Properties in Chiral CdSe Quantum Dots. ACS nano, 19(39), 35119-35126. . PMID: 40982633.

2.) Mandato A, Moriglioni NA, Saxena S (2025 Jul 7). Q‑Band Double Quantum Coherence ESR for Sensitive Nitroxide-Based Distance Measurements The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, 129(28), 7108-7118. . PMCID: 12278208.

3.) Eckhart KE , Arnold AM , Starvaggi FA , Sydlik SA (2021 Apr 7). Tunable, bacterio-instructive scaffolds made from functional graphenic materials. Biomaterials science, 9(7), 2467-2479. doi: 10.1039/d0bm01471k. PMID: 33404025.

4.) Mandal A, van der Wel PCA (2016 Nov 1). MAS (1)H NMR Probes Freezing Point Depression of Water and Liquid-Gel Phase Transitions in Liposomes. Biophysical journal, 111(9), 1965-1973. . PMID: 27806278.

5.) Gao Y, Osman S, Koide K (2014 Aug 14). Total Synthesis and Biological Studies of TMC-205 and Analogues as Anticancer Agents and Activators of SV40 Promoter. ACS medicinal chemistry letters, 5(8), 863-7. . PMID: 25147604.

Description:

This facility maintains a large array of instrumentation for the production and analysis of complex materials, including nanoparticles, thin films, polymers, ceramics, and molecular electronics. In addition, the MCL oversees the operations of the Department's Biological Instrumentation Cluster which provides access to specialized equipment used in molecular biology and biological chemistry.