REG: Digital Imaging and Analysis for Electron Microscopy in Nanotechnology

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ABSTRACTCTS-0079330Arijit BoseU. of Rhode IslandThe University of Rhode Island will purchase a digital camera, interface equipment and image analysis software to provide direct digital imagining capability for the JEOL 1200 EX Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscope (S/TEM). The equipment will be used initially for a series of research projects representing interdisciplinary collaborations between Is in the Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering and Physics departments at URI as well as the Chemical Engineering Department at Tulane University. These include (a) time-solved cryo-TEM experiments on microstructure evolution in mixed cationic/anionic surfactant systems, (b) examination of morphologies of lipid/peptide assemblies, determination of specific locations of model membrane proteins in lipid bilayers and swollen micelles (imaged using cryo-TEM) that will expose their functionalities, (c) determination of microstructures (cryo-TEM in newly discovered hydrogels that have nearly equal amounts of water and organic phase (d) SEM examination of fracture surfaces of a new class of composite materials made from polymers with cenosphere fillers, and (e) morphology, size distribution and aggregation characteristics of magnetic nanoparticles (TEM). Digital imaging and analysis will dramatically increase the efficiency and quality of utilization of the electron microscope, and have a critical impact far beyond the specific projects outlined. It will make the electron microscope available as a powerful educational tool for students from several departments in the university, and allow then to gain expertise in a vital technique for colloid, materials science and biological observations.