Acquisition of Gas Chromatography Equipment for Research in Microbiology and River Ecology at Three Undergraduate Institutions

国王学院获得了一项国家科学基金会拨款，用于微生物实验室设备，这些设备将用于当地三所学院的本科生研究。国王学院的David Glick博士和Brian Mangan博士将与斯克兰顿大学的Michael Sulzinski博士和威尔克斯大学的Kenneth Pidcock博士共享安装在国王学院的一套新的气相色谱系统。这项资助将证明，共享设备的使用可以促进三所高等教育机构微生物学本科生和四名高技能教员的研究与教育的整合。两台配有计算机和专用软件的气相色谱仪将促进两个领域的新研究。独立但相关的研究将通过这三家机构的实验室研究，识别和分析细菌、真菌和鱼类中的脂类（脂肪）。进一步的研究将集中在萨斯奎哈纳河生态，分析环境污染物多氯联苯（PCB）对鱼类的影响，以及酸性矿山排水对河流细菌和真菌丰度和多样性的影响。其中一台气相色谱仪将专门用于分析从细菌和真菌中提取的脂质（脂肪）。一旦脂质分析完成，提供的计算机软件将允许识别特定的细菌或真菌。另一台气相色谱仪将专门用于分析一种重要的环境污染物，即PCB（多氯联苯）。第二种仪器还将用于检测混合物中哪些化学物质会被细菌降解。在此之前，宾夕法尼亚州东北部没有任何高等教育机构拥有气相色谱系统，用于通过脂肪酸谱来识别和分析微生物。这项研究也具有基本的科学意义。它将为土壤和河流细菌和真菌的生态学提供新的见解，并增加我们对多氯联苯污染对鱼类生命周期影响的认识。这一重要设备的获得将加强这三所高等教育机构的本科教育、研究和研究培训的整合。

A National Science Foundation grant has been awarded to King's College for microbiology laboratory equipment that will be used in undergraduate research at three local colleges. David Glick, Ph.D. and Brian Mangan, Ph.D. of King's College will share a new gas chromatography system installed at King's with Michael Sulzinski, Ph.D. of the University of Scranton and Kenneth Pidcock, Ph.D. of Wilkes University. The grant will demonstrate that shared use of equipment can foster the integration of research and education among undergraduate microbiology students and four highly skilled faculty investigators at three institutions of higher education.Two gas chromatographs configured with a computer and special software will facilitate new research in two areas. Separate, but related, research will identify and analyze lipids (fats) in bacteria, fungi, and fish through laboratory studies at the three institutions. Additional research will focus on Susquehanna River ecology, analyzing the effect of the environmental contaminant, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), on fish, and the effect of acid mine drainage on the abundance and diversity of river bacteria and fungi. One of the gas chromatographs will be dedicated to analyzing lipids (fats) extracted from bacteria and fungi. Once the lipid analysis has been done, the computer software supplied will allow the identification of the particular bacteria or fungus. The other gas chromatograph will be dedicated to the analysis of an important environmental contaminant known as PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyl). This second instrument will also be used to examine which chemicals, in a mix, bacteria degrade.Prior to this NSF grant award, no institution of higher education in northeastern Pennsylvania possessed a gas chromatography system configured for research to identify and analyze microbes by their fatty acid profile. The research also has basic scientific importance. It will provide new insights into the ecology of soil and river bacteria and fungi as well as increasing our knowledge of the impact of PCB contamination on the life cycles of fish. The acquisition of this important equipment will strengthen the integration of undergraduate education, research and research training at all three institutions of higher education.