MRI - Acquisition of a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring for Enhanced Research and Teaching of Interfacial Science in the State of Mississippi

具有耗散的石英晶体微量天平（QCM-D）是一种高灵敏度天平，可通过监测石英晶体的频率和耗散变化来检测分子水平的质量变化。 这些能力大大加强了在一系列广泛领域对表面和界面的材料开发研究，例如涂层开发;膜污染;药物胶囊制备;以及地质构造上含水介质的生物吸收。 该仪器将作为密西西比州和东南部地区的共享设施，由密西西比大学（UM）和密西西比州立大学（MSU）的研究人员协调。 具体而言，该工具将用于显着提高研究生产力，从至少八个部门在两所大学（UM和MSU），跨越化学，生物医学，土木和农业/生物工程;地球科学系;和药学院。 14个不同的研究小组将立即受益于将该仪器纳入他们的研究活动，多达65名研究生将使用这种最先进的设备学习新的界面测量。 此外，200多名学生将受到学术课程的积极影响，这些课程将利用QCM-D进行实践活动，其中大约一半的学生来自代表性不足的群体。 最后，该仪器还将用于夏季研究活动，以吸引K-12学生对STEM感兴趣，作为专门的推广计划的一部分。QCM-D是用于材料开发和表面和界面研究的最先进仪器。 它在测量吸附、结合或从表面去除分子时具有分子水平的准确性。 除了基本的4通道流动模块外，拟议的仪器还有几个模块，包括一个恒定湿度室;一个进行并行显微镜测量的模块;一个150 ℃的高温室;和一个旋涂机，用于制备具有独特表面的单个传感器。 该基础设施最初将为以下领域的14个研究小组提供服务：a）包装应用的多功能涂层开发; B）用于膜分离的离子液体/聚合物复合材料; c）药物输送的涂层开发; d）细胞分裂和肌肉收缩; e）用于药物输送的石墨烯基纳米载体; f）地质应用中纳米和微米尺度的矿化机制;和g）含水介质在地质构造上的生物吸收。 该项目由CBET-MRI计划和刺激竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）计划共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) is a highly sensitive balance that can detect changes in mass at the molecular level by monitoring changes in frequency and dissipation of a quartz crystal. These capabilities significantly enhance material development research of surfaces and interfaces over a wide range of areas, such as coating development; fouling of membranes; drug capsule preparations; and bio-absorption of aqueous media on geological formations. This instrument will be used as a shared facility in the State of Mississippi and the southeastern region, coordinated by investigators from the University of Mississippi (UM) and Mississippi State University (MSU). Specifically, this instrument will be used to dramatically improve research productivity from at least eight Departments across two Universities (UM and MSU), spanning Chemical, Biomedical, Civil, and Agricultural / Biological Engineering; Department of Geosciences; and the School of Pharmacy. Fourteen different research groups will immediately benefit from incorporation of this instrument into their research activities, and up to 65 research students will learn new interfacial measurements using this state-of-the-art equipment. Additionally, over 200 students will be positively impacted by the study of academic courses that will utilize the QCM-D for practical activities, with approximately half of these students being from underrepresented groups. Finally, this instrument will also be used for summer research activities to interest K-12 students in STEM, as part of a dedicated outreach program.The QCM-D is a state-of-the-art instrument used in material development and investigation of surfaces and interfaces. It has molecular-level accuracy in measuring adsorption, binding, or removal of molecules from a surface. The proposed instrument has several modules besides the basic 4-channel flow module, including a constant humidity chamber; a module to conduct concurrent microscopy measurements; a high temperature chamber to 150oC; and a spin coater to prepare individual sensors with unique surfaces. This infrastructure will initially serve 14 research groups in areas of a) multifunctional coating development for packaging applications; b) ionic liquid / polymer composites for membrane separations; c) coating development for drug delivery; d) cell division and muscle contraction; e) graphene-based nanocarriers for drug delivery; f) mineralization mechanisms at nano and micro scales in geological applications; and g) bio-absorption of aqueous media on geological formations. These efforts will be expanded to other areas with the shared nature intended for this instrument with other institutions and industries.This project is jointly funded by CBET-MRI Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.