Global Water Futures Observatories (Waterloo) offer a range of lab equipment rentals for users to rent and perform their own analyses and/or experiments, including:
- Analytical lab equipment for quantifying DNA (e.g., plate sealers, plate readers, PCR workstations),
- Fluorescence and light spectroscopy techniques (e.g., Raman spectroscopy, UV-Visible absorbance spectroscopy), and for analyzing physico-chemical properties of environmental and engineered solutions (e.g., zeta potential), as well as
- Experimental lab equipment for studying the rates and pathways of reactions in water and sediments and for studying the exposure of fish to environmental contaminants (e.g., flow-through reactors, infrared gas analyzers, fish exposure systems and fish swim tunnels).
Please see Our policies and FAQs page for more details on our rental policies and how we set our pricing.
Ecohydrology lab equipment and rental fees
Experimental systems
|
Equipment |
Used for |
Fee |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Flow through reactors of various sizes |
Biogeochemical kinetics |
$25 per day/per reactor |
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Experimental column systems of various sizes |
Biogeochemical kinetics |
$35 per day/per column |
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Benchtop peristaltic pumps |
$12 per day |
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MicroRespTM system |
CO2 production rates from soils and water |
$100 per day, including use of multi-mode reader and gas chromatograph for measurement and calibration |
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Automated Soil CO2 Flux System (LI-COR LI-8100) |
CO2 concentrations and emission fluxes from soil, water surfaces |
$135 per day |
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CO2 and CH4 Infrared Analyzer (LI-COR LI-7810) |
CO2 and CH4 concentrations and emission fluxes from soil, water surfaces |
$135 per day |
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Freeze-thaw Soil Column System |
Cold region soil processes |
$35 per day per column |
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Bioreactors (Applikon Biotechnology) |
Biogeochemical kinetics |
$35 per day per column |
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| Temperature-controlled chamber(s) | For conducting temperature controlled experiments. More information about temperature-controlled chambers available: https://uwaterloo.ca/ecohydrology/facilities/lab-facilities/critical-zone-experimental-laboratory-czoex |
$125 per day | |
| Anaerobic chamber(s) | For conducting anoxic/anaerobic experiments and analyses | $125 per day |
Other equipment
|
Equipment |
Used for |
Fee |
|---|---|---|
|
Multi-mode well plate reader (Flex Station 3, Molecular Devices) |
Automated well plate reader: can be used to measure fluorescence, absorbance, or luminescence |
$125 per day |
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UV-Visible Spectrophotometer (Thermo Evolution 260) |
For measuring absorbance of aqueous samples (wavelength range: 190 to 1100 nm) |
$100 per day |
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Multimeter probes (ThermoScientific Orion VersaStar) |
Probes for:
|
$100 per day |
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Autoclave (Tuttnauer model 3850E Electronic Tabletop) |
For sterilizing microbial cultures, soils and sediments |
$100 per day |
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Weigh scales (Mettler Toledo New Classic MF) |
For weighing aqueous solutions, soils, and sediments |
$100 per day |
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Analytical balance (Mettler Toledo XS205 Dual Range) |
For weighing aqueous solutions, soils, and sediments |
$100 per day |
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Oven (ThermoScientific Heratherm) |
For drying soils and sediments |
$100 per day |
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Centrifuge (ThermoScientific Sorvall ST16R) |
For separating soils and sediments from aqueous solutions |
$100 per day |
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Portable Lab Spectral Induced Polarized (PSIP) Instrument (Ontash & Ermac) |
Specialized geophysical technique: Measures spectral induced polarization (SIP) response of porous media and materials in porous media (e.g., microbial cells, microplastic particles) |
$300 per day |
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Titrator (Metrohm 907 Titrando) |
Particle analysis (particle surface charge properties) |
$200 per day |
|
Stereomicroscope (Leica EZ4 stereomicroscope) |
Particle, solid phase analysis (microplastics) |
$110 per day |
Ecotoxicology lab equipment and rental fees
Aquatic Toxicology and Ecosystem Remediation
| Equipment | Used for | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Bio-Rad CFX-96 Realtime PCR (x2) | Used to run plates for quantifying gene expression and covid-19 in wastewater | $600 per sample |
| Bio-Rad CFX- OPUS Realtime PCR (x2) | Used to run plates for quantifying gene expression and covid-19 in wastewater | $600 per sample |
| Qiagen Digital PCR | Quantifies nucleic acids | $800 per sample |
| PCR workstation | Used to prepare reagents for PCR and plate them | $50 per day |
| Bio-Rad T100 thermocycler | Used for PCR gene expression | $100 per sample |
| Biological safety cabinet | Used to prepare, extract samples for various projects | $50 per day |
| NIMBUS automated liquid handler | Plates mastermix and samples for covid-19 and other projects | $600 per sample |
| Nanodrop (Thermofisher NanoDrop microvolume spectrophotometers) | Measures total RNA, DNA and proteins for various measures including covid-19 in wastewater | $100 per sample |
| Bio-Rad plate sealer | Seals plates to be run with qPCR | $10 per plate |
| Refrigerated centrifuges | Used to centrifuge samples that require refrigeration for covid-19 in wastewater | $50 per day |
| MaxQ 6000 incubator | Incubation of yeast cells for determination of total erogenicity of wastewater (YES assay) | $100 per day |
| Molecular Devices M3 spectrophotometer plate reader | Many uses. ELISAs, YES assay, other cell cultures | $100 per day |
| Perkin Elmer 3110 Tricarb liquid scintillation counter | Radiation measurements. H3, C13, I125 etc. | $50 per sample |
| QIAcube Connect | Extracts RNA per DNA for various kits | $200 per day |
| Laminar flow hood | Used to prepare and extract samples for YES assay | $50 per day |
| Supelco manual SPE manifolds | Extraction of PPCPs from water samples | $50 per day |
| YSI handheld multimeters | Measures water quality parameters in stream and in aquatic facility for various projects | $50 per day |
| Dionex Autotrace for SPE extractions | Automated SPE for PPCPs and hormones. | $200 per day |
| Dionex ASE for solid extractions | Automated accelerated solvent extraction of solids like fish tissue for PPCP analysis | $200 per day |
| Agilent 2200 Tapestation | Measures RNA/DNA quality | $100 per sample |
| Agilent 1260 LC with UV detector and fraction collector | Separates a variety of chemicals for toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) studies. Collects specific fractions/peaks of individual chemicals. | $500 per sample |
| Agilent 1260 LC with Agilent 6460 Triple Quad MS | Analysis of PPCP, hormones, drugs of abuse. | $1200 per sample |
| Cytation plate reader | Plate reader with imaging capabilities used for cell culture | $300 per sample |
| Bead Beater Homogenizer | Homogenizes samples prior to extraction for DNA or RNA | $100 per day |
| Nitrogen Evaporator | Recently purchased | $50 per day |
Waterloo Aquatic Threats in Environmental Research (WATER)
| Equipment | Used for | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Dosing Containment system (x2) | Systems for holding and dosing fish | $100 per day |
| Holding tanks | Fish holding tanks | $50 per day |
| Auto Liquid handler/ DNA extractor | Fully automated liquid handler for many different uses such as extraction for specific RNA kits and loading 96 well plates for analysis. | $600 per sample |
| Aquatic Habitats (AHAB) | AHAB system for holding fish | $200 per day |
| Fish exposure system | Chilled fish exposure system for static and flow through exposures of small-bodied fish to a variety of contaminants. | $200 per day |
Nanobiosensors facilities and rental fees
| Service | Equipment | Fee |
| 1. Detection of DNA PCR reaction products | Real-time PCR thermocycler (CFX96, Bio-Rad) | $80 per run (up to 96 tubes per run) |
| 2. PCR amplification of DNA | PCR thermocycler (T100, Bio-Rad) | $20 per run (up to 96 tubes per run) |
| 3. Gel imaging (fluorescence) | Gel Documentation System (ChemDoc, Bio-Rad) | $10 per gel |
| 4. Imaging of cells and fluorescent microparticles and microplastics | Inverted fluorescence microscope (Nikon Eclipse Ti) | $50 per hour |
| 5. Raman characterization of molecules, nanomaterials, microplastics and other materials |
Raman spectrometer (DeltaNu 785) | $20 per hour |
| 6. Reading fluorescence and absorbance and chemiluminescence in 96 well plates (for biosensor validation) |
Fluorescence microplate reader (Tecan Spark) | $125 per day |
| 7. Reading fluorescence in 96 well plates (for biosensor validation) | Fluorescence microplate reader (Tecan M200) | $125 per day |
| 8. Measurement of absorbance of samples (for colorimetric biosensor validation) |
UV-vis spectrometer (Agilent 8453A) | $100 per day |
| 9. Measurement of fluorescence intensity and lifetime (for low fluorescence intensity samples) |
Fluorometer (Fluoromax 3, Horiba) | $20 per hour |
| 10. Measurement of particle size and zeta potential | Dynamic light scattering spectrometer (ZetaSizer Nano s90, Malvern) | $85 per sample |
| 11. Drying DNA | Vacufuge drier (Eppendorf) | $20 per run (up to 40 tubes per run) |