Sample submission with BookitLab is available to BSc, MSc and PhD students; researchers; and other personnel at the Department of Chemistry (KI) and Department of Pharmacy (FAI) at UiO. Other clients are kindly asked to contact the MS laboratory directly.
Register to use BookitLab
Before you can send in a request for analysis, you need to register in BookitLab; you also need to be part of a BookitLab project.
First, go to ecore.bookitlab.com/uio and log in using Feide to register you user.
Then, you need to be assigned to the proper project. There are two different cases as follows.
Dummy projects
This case applies if you are a BSc or MSc student. It also applies if you are "KD-stipendiat", that is, a PhD student financed directly by either KI or FAI using funding from the Ministry of Education and Research (Kunnskapsdepartementet).
Register your position and affiliation using this form. Based on you answers, you will be assigned to one of the following "dummy" projects in BookitLab (each project exists in two versions, one for KI and one for FAI):
MS BSc dummy
If you are a bachelor student.
MS MSc dummy
If you are a master student.
MS KD-Stipendiat dummy
If you are a PhD student financed directly by either KI or FAI using funding from the Ministry of Education and Research.
Once you have been assigned to one of the projects, you can start submitting requests for analysis. For students belonging to one of these categories, the cost of MS-lab analytical services is covered by the respective department.
Important: if your status changes with regards to the above mentioned categories, e.g., when you change from being a BSc student to an MSc student, please resubmit the form so we can make sure you are in the correct project.
Real projects
This case applies to all PhD students, post docs, researchers and others that work for a project that has external financing, for instance grants from the Norwegian Research Council (NFR) or EU. These projects will be billed for using the MS-lab analytical services.
In this case, your project in BookitLab will correspond to your real research project. These BookitLab projects are managed by administrators at the The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Projects Department (Avd. for Prosjektøkonomi).
If your research project is not setup in BookitLab, you need to do contact the appropriate administrator at the Faculty to do so; see the links above to find the right person, but be aware that the information might not be all up to date. Information they will need include the following:
- Which research project it regards, "sted" and "delprosjekt" numbers. Where it is located (e.g. Dept. of Chemistry). Project category (in this case "bidrag"). Requested name in BookitLab (max 25 characters).
- Who is to be the project leader in BookitLab (most likely the PI). The project leader has some limited administration privileges with regards to the project, but cannot add users to the project.
- Project amount. This is the amount of money assigned to the project in BookitLab. This is the maximum amount that can be billed to the project; once this limit is reached, the project can no longer be used in BookitLab until the amount is increased.
- Who is the BDM at your department (person with "budsjettdisponeringsmyndighet" = budget managing authority). This is the Head of Office/Kontorsjef. Note that the BookitLab project will not be operational before the BDM has approved the project amount set for it.
- A list of all project allowed users, i.e., the people that should be able to use this project in BookitLab. Suggested to supply full name as well as user name. Please make sure all users have logged in to BookitLab beforehand, otherwise they won't show up in the system.
- The cores (i.e. "Leiested") that the project should have access to. You can allow the project to be used across all cores and instruments at UiO; alternatively, you can specify each core as needed – our core is "KI - Mass Spectrometry Laboratory".
Other cases
If neither of the above two cases fit your circumstances, please contact us directly.
Creating a request
In BookitLab, on the pane on the left hand side, select "request services" and then "requests".
Make sure that you have the correct selection for core; the core is indicated in the top right of the screen, immediately to the left of your name. You have the option to view all cores or a specific core; however, if you view a single core you can only make requests of services from that specific core. Hence, you need to select either "All Cores" or "KI - Mass Spectrometry Laboratory".
At the top of the screen, select the "+" sign (new order). Select the appropriate lab service (MS analysis ...) and then select the appropriate project, e.g., "KI-MS MSc dummy" or your research project; then press "select".
Regarding the projects, you will be able to choose from any projects that you are a part of in BookItLab; please make sure that you pick the right one for this particular analysis.
Filling out a request
The request has a few different parts:
Submission details
Unless you need to change anything, this can be ignored.
Milestones
This can also be ignored.
Request form
Fill out as appropriate.
Request lines
This is the part that contains information about your sample(s) (a single request can be used for the submission of multiple samples). For each sample, create a row by pressing the "+" sign underneath the columns and fill out the details.
Please note that depending upon which type of request you have selected, not all of the fields or options below will be present.
Sample identifier
The sample identifier should be a short, unique, code identifying your sample, for example your initials and a number. Some people use the labeling scheme for their compounds also for their samples; this is fine as long as each sample has a unique identifier (append the label with, e.g., -1, -2, 3-; -a, -b, -c; etc.).
Naturally, the sample itself has to be physically labeled with this identifier.
Chemical structure
To ensure that the chosen analysis is appropriate for the sample, we need to know the structure.
Draw the molecule in a chemical structure drawing program like ChemDraw and save the structure as an image file. If you do not have ChemDraw, you can also use the free, open-source, online software Ketcher 2.3 Standalone.
To upload the structure to BookitLab, click the 
-button all the way to the right of the current line (you might have to scroll horizontally); you can then drag-and-drop the image file into BookitLab.
Formula
Please specify the molecular formula of the main analyte(s), e.g., C17H13Br2NO.
If you have your analyte(s) drawn in ChemDraw, you can find the molecular formula by selecting the structure, right-clicking and selecting Analysis > Chemical Formula. In Ketcher, click "
" and copy the formula.
Monoisotopic mass
Please specify the monoisotopic molecular mass to four decimals.
The monoisotopic mass of a compound is the exact mass of the compound where only the most abundant isotope of each atom is considered and can be very different from the molar mass. For instance, C17H13Br2NO has the monoisotopic molecular mass 404.9364 u and a molar mass of 407.10 g/mol.
In ChemDraw, the monoisotopic mass can be found by selecting the structure, right-clicking and selecting Analysis > Exact Mass. To change the number of decimals shown, click View > Show Analysis Window and change Decimals. Or you can write the chemical formula into ChemCalc and copy the monoisotopic mass.
Sample amount
Please indicate the amount of your sample, with units. Write the mass for solids and neat liquids and the concentration for solutions. Typically, samples are 0–5 mg or 0–5 mg/mL. Very small samples are more difficult to handle and bigger samples require more dilutions. Note that this is not the same as the amount of analyte, i.e., the comound of interest, if there are many other compounds present in the sample.
If the amount written is wrong, the instrument can be damaged so please take extra care to make sure what you write is correct!
Sample soluble/dissolved in
If the sample is a solution, write the solvent used.
Not all solvents are suitable for MS analysis. If the solvent is ionizable and in excess of the analyte, you will generally only see the solvent in MS; this can be the case for DMSO and DMF. Take care that the solvent is sufficiently pure for MS analysis. Some solvents contain trace compounds or contaminants that give high signals in MS analysis.
If the sample is neat (no solvent), we need to know which solvent it can be dissolved in before dilution. Usually, we will use MeCN for the initial dissolution as most samples have a decent solubility in it.
Depending upon the analysis, the sample will be further diluted using MeOH, MeCN or possibly H2O. If you have a preference, or know or suspect that your compound will react with either of these, please let us know in the comments.
Sample boiling point
Please provide boiling point, or at least an approximate value, in centrigrades. Chromatographic conditions can also be given in the comments and is of great help.
Ion source
For the maXiS II instrument, the most commonly used ionization technique is electrospray ionization (ESI) and this should be considered the default choice as it works for most samples. However, should the need arise, the maXis can be fitted with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) or atmospheric pressure photo ionization (APPI) source.
The SCION instrument is generally only used with its electron ionization (EI) source.
Sample introduction
For the maXis II instrument, there is the option of high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) in combination with ESI, APCI and APPI. There is also the option of gas chromatography (GC) to be used with APCI. For analyzing partially volatile liquid or solid samples, a direct insertion probe (DIP) is available with APCI and APPI ionization. Please note that chromatography is generally not needed for the majority of samples.
The SCION instrument comes standard with GC and also has the option of sample introduction using DIP.
Extras
For the maXis II, there is the option of high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with suggested molecular formula. There is also the option of collision induced dissociation (CID). Note that it is possible to select more than one of these.
Return sample
Do you want the sample back or can it be disposed of after analysis? Returned samples can be picked up at the same place samples are turned in.
Comment
To add comments about the sample or analysis, click the 
-button all the way to the right (you might have to scroll horizontally), and write a comment in the comment field.
Examples of relevant information you could include are:
- Safety! In case you sample is particularly toxic or otherwise dangerous, make sure to indicate this.
- Sensitivity to air, light or certain temperatures of your sample.
- Solvents unsuitable for dilution due to them reacting with the compound.
- Requested polarity. Generally, we will record mass spectra in positive mode (the spectrum will show the positive ions of the analyte). For particular samples we might opt to use negative mode instead. If you specifically need to have a spectrum in either positive or negative mode, you can ask for this in a comment.
Additional fields in your BookitLab request that appear after analysis
Each line in your request has some additional fields that are hidden at the time of submission; these fields will be filled in by us during the analysis.
Dilution
Here the approximate dilution of the sample is written. This information is mostly for our internal use, but can provide some insights for the interested.
ID number
This is the consecutive number of the analysis. It also serves as the internal journal number and is the basis for the name of the data files. If you need any extra data processing or similar, please refer to this number when contacting us.
Request comments/Files
In this part of the request you can add additional files and comments; however, we recommend that comments pertaining to a specific sample is added in the request line as described above. This is also where we will upload your spectra and add any comments on our part.
Delivering your sample
Deliver your sample, clearly marked with the sample identifier (and possibly your name) in the bookshelf outside of room V252 in the Chemistry building.
Samples that needs to be kept in the fridge or the freezer are best handed directly to the laboratory staff. If no one is in the lab, check office V248.
For time sensitive samples, please contact us beforehand to set up an appointment.
Additional information sample preparation and delivery is available on the Services page.
Additional information
If you are uncertain about which analysis methods to request, a more in depth description of the available options can be found on the Services page.
The university has a webpage regarding BookItLab (in Norwegian only); it can be found here.