U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Electron Crystallography of Plant Polysaccharides

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This award will support collaborative research between Prof. Donald Miller of Clemson University and Dr. H. Chanzy of the Centre de Recherche sur les Macromolecules Vegetales, of CNRS in Grenoble, France, in the area of molecular imaging of organic materials. These materials are easily destroyed by the electron beams used in imaging inorganic materials. Therefore, special imaging techniques must be developed, which utilize low-energy beams without sacrificing resolution. The objective of this work is to increase the resolution with which electron-beam-derived molecular images of plant polysaccharides can be obtained. Electron-beam images will be produced, using the electron microscope at the collaborating French institution; the images will then be enhanced, using image-processing algorithms developed by the U.S. investigator. Laser interferometry will be used to obtain parallel data on molecular structure in order to check the algorithms developed. The capabilities of the two laboratories and investigators are complementary, with equipment and expertise for electron-beam imaging already available in France and image-processing expertise in the U.S. The techniques to be developed in France will be transferred to the U.S. laboratory, where they will be available for later use by the U.S. investigator in his studies of plant polymers. These techniques will also be useful for the study of other beam-sensitive materials, such as viral samples or polymeric photoresists.