External Users

Welcome!

The analytical instrumentation services we offer to the ISU research community are also available to other Iowa universities, community colleges, high schools, and Iowa businesses.  The fee structure for external users is listed on each instrument page, and summarized in the document External Usage Charges.

Services We Provide

We provide basic methods implementation and data interpretation assistance for samples submitted by external users. In general, we expect you to have the appropriate in-house staff to research the methods you are asking us to implement, properly prepare the samples for analysis, and interpret the data that we acquire for you. Projects that have an extensive scope or require substantial sample preparation or methods development should be discussed with CIF staff to determine if we have the capacity to take on such a project. If you do not have anyone in your company with a chemistry-related background, you may want to hire a consultant to interface with us. 

If you are not an Iowa-based business we may ask that you justify your request for our services. One such justification is that we provide a service that is not available at a commercial lab or nearby university. It is not out intention to be in competition with commercial analytical labs. Lower cost is NOT a valid justification. Our primary mission is to support Iowa State University researchers, collaborators, and partner institutions. We are a small team that maintains over thirty analytical instruments and serves hundreds of academic researchers. We are not a commercial lab, and do not always have the staff time to devote to large projects. 

The Chemical Instrumentation Facility is established as a fee-for-service center through Iowa State University. The fees we generate through charges to internal (departmental) and external (other universities or companies) are used to pay a portion of staff salaries, maintain instrumentation, purchase laboratory consumables, and contribute towards instrument purchases. These fees are evaluated annually. The remainder of staff salaries are supported through the Department of Chemistry and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Billing Requirements

Prior to submitting samples or using CIF services, please complete the Chemical Services Authorization Form - External. After completing the form, scan in and email it to the address at the bottom of the form. You will be assigned an Accounts Receivable number through the ISU Treasurer's Office. If someone from your company or institution has used our services in the past, you may already have an AR number. If you believe this may be the case, please email Dr. Sarah Cady prior to submitting the form.

We bill monthly for work, about five days before the end of the month. If your project spans multiple months, we may bill for the entire project when the project has concluded. A few days after billing, you will be emailed a PDF containing the non-itemized invoice from Accounts Receivable, and the itemized invoice we generate internally. CIF staff do NOT directly handle payments. All payments must be coordinated through the Accounts Receivable office. Invoices are Net 30.

If your organization requires a W9 from Iowa State prior to remitting payment, the ISU W9 can be found here. 

Sample Analysis and Data Delivery

Normally you will be sending your samples to us prepared ready for analysis, and our staff will perform the measurements. If your samples require additional consumables such as NMR tubes, deuterated solvent, or TGA-DSC crucibles, you will be charged for those consumables, in addition to staff time required to prepare the samples. You will be charged for the instrument measurement time and for the staff time associated with obtaining the measurements and preparing the data summary report. One exception is combustion elemental analysis where all standards, consumables and staff time are included in a per-replicate rate. We are able to provide cost estimates prior to accepting your samples if the number of samples and scope of the analyses is well-established.

You may also request instrument training for a company employee or consultant. This will allow you to access the instrumentation and perform measurements independently without incurring additional staff charges. If needed, we can assist you in requesting an ISU affiliate ID card, which can be coded for laboratory access and external door access.

We are able to deliver the data to you in a processed format (Word, PDF, Excel, etc) or raw format (files directly from the instrument). For example, an NMR data report may be a multi-page PDF that includes the spectra, peak calibration, peak picking, integration, several zoom-in regions, and brief data discussion. A mass spec data report will include the chromatograms, mass spectrum, library search, and brief data discussion. (Full structure determination is typically NOT in the scope of services offered by CIF staff.) 

If you prefer to process the data yourself, you will be supplied with the raw data files. Most of the analysis software we have is only licensed for academic/non-profit use, and we will not be able to grant access to processing software for use off-site. Many software companies offer generous trial periods, and the software can be downloaded to process your data during that trial period. For extensive and ongoing analysis requirements, we recommend purchasing a license specific to your company. Some free and open-source data processing softwares exist. CIF staff will not provide any assistance for software that is not readily used for data processing in our laboratory. 

Sending Samples Safely

You must abide by all state and federal requirements related to the shipment of hazardous materials. Please note that dry ice is considered a hazardous material and is subject to certain shipping requirements.

Usually our measurements require less than a gram of substance. Always include the MSDS sheets for your samples, or a description of the materials if they are novel compounds. After analysis, we prefer to send remaining sample material back to you in the same shipping container in which it was received. If we must dispose of extra material, please provide disposal instructions, and a disposal fee may be assessed. 

When possible, please provide the tracking information for the package, especially if it requires refrigeration upon receipt. We receive notifications for packages that arrive for us via FedEx or UPS. We do not, however, receive notification for packages that arrive via USPS, because they arrive at our unmonitored departmental mail room instead of the receiving dock. Informing us as to the shipment method and tracking number will help us locate the package as soon as it arrives.

Shipping Address:
(CIF Staff Name)/Samples
Chemistry Stores
Iowa State University
1400 Gilman Hall
2415 Osborn Drive
Ames, IA 50011-1021
(515) 294-5805

Chain of Custody and Storage

Mail received at Iowa State University is normally sorted and processed in areas that may not meet the legal requirements of "chain of custody." All incoming packages and mail items are received by Postal and Parcel or Central Receiving. They are then delivered to a publicly accessible receiving dock/receiving room in Chemistry Stores, or the publicly accessible mail room in Gilman Hall. If chain of custody is a requirement, you must arrange to have the samples delivered directly to our lab. We will sign for the material and accept responsibility for keeping it in a secure location.

We have secure refrigeration in our facility. For samples that do not require a secure location, we have a 4 °C refrigerator and 0 °C freezer. We do not have a colder -40 or -80 °C freezer in our facility. If your samples require ultra cold storage, please discuss that in advance with us so we can arrange to store your samples in another research laboratory. 

Confidentiality

Your samples, sample information, and the data we obtain for you will not be intentionally shared with anyone other than CIF staff. We can delete any acquired data from our instruments immediately after acquisition. If additional legal protection is required, we are able to enter into an NDA/MTA if needed. This process must originate via ISU, and ISU Office of Sponsored Programs and/or Office of Intellectual Property and Tech Transfer will draft the initial agreement, which can then be modified by your company's legal department, and changes can be discussed between attorneys. CIF staff CANNOT unilaterally modify confidentiality agreements nor are we able to unilaterally enter into confidentiality agreements. The NDA/MTA process can be quite onerous and an additional hourly staff fee may be assessed depending on how much staff time is required to complete the NDA/MTA process with your company. In general, we appreciate it when NDA/MTA can be avoided, due to the extensive administrative effort required by entering into one.  

Lab Accreditation

The Chemical Instrumentation Facility is a multi-user teaching and research facility and is not an accredited analytical facility. Therefore, the results provided to external users represent a best effort analysis given the methods and instrumentation available, and do not represent a certificate of analysis or purity. If you require an accredited analytical laboratory, please seek out a commercial analytical chemistry service. We practice reasonable QA/QC protocols that vary somewhat depending upon the nature of the analysis. Depending on the sample and requested technique, we may be able to add a standard sample to the requested analyses to provide a point of comparison.