MRI: Acquisition of a Confocal Raman Microscope System for Nano-Bio-Chemical-Thermal Research

医疗保健、电子和能源生产等行业中的生物、化学和物理过程需要受控环境，有时需要极端条件。例如，器官移植需要在超低温下储存。用于发电的燃料电池通常在非常高的温度下运行，使用特殊的气体。许多行业的先进材料和系统的设计需要更好地了解所涉及的生物和化学过程。这就要求测试环境能够很好地模拟真实的工艺条件，这是一个巨大的挑战。具有复杂环境控制的共焦拉曼显微镜的获得将使在宽温度范围和不同气体/液体环境下的体内化学映射成为可能。该仪器将促进四个研究领域的尖端研究和教育项目-纳米材料，生物工程，热能和化学工程，以及维拉诺瓦大学，布林莫尔学院和卡布里尼大学三个机构之间的合作。此外，该工具将支持一系列综合研究和教育项目，并为来自不同背景的研究生和本科生提供机会。该设施还将纳入三个K-12外展活动，预计将有500多名代表性不足的学生入学。共焦拉曼显微镜的温度范围为-196 °C至约1000°C，气体/液体环境可控，可提供材料和化学品的高分辨率和实时结构和化学指纹。拉曼光谱具有与水或高温的独特兼容性，特别适用于生物和高温表征。将在三个机构启用七个项目。其中包括固体氧化物燃料电池的研究，以提供对燃料反应机制的重要见解，二维材料，以促进新的合成方法，并了解其在极端条件下的结构-性能关系，高性能储能系统的储能材料，多铁性氧化物中的自旋-声子耦合，为多铁性机制提供前所未有的证据，冷冻损伤的分子机制，用于开发细胞保存技术，完整果蝇心脏的分子特性，以提供对生理衰老的见解。通过满足所有这些需求，拟议的仪器将大大推进知识和促进纳米材料，热和化学工程，生物工程/biology.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命的跨学科研究，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Biological, chemical, and physical processes in industries such as healthcare, electronics, and energy production require controlled environments, sometimes with extreme conditions. For example, organ transplants need to be stored at ultralow temperatures. Fuel cells used for power generation often operate at very high temperatures, with specialized gases. The design of advanced materials and systems across many industries requires a better understanding of the biological and chemical processes involved. This demands testing environments that closely mimic real process conditions, which is an enormous challenge. The acquisition of a confocal Raman microscope with sophisticated environmental control will enable in vivo chemical mapping under a wide temperature range and different gas/liquid environments. This instrument will facilitate cutting-edge research and education projects across four research areas-nanomaterials, bioengineering, thermal and chemical engineering, and collaboration among three institutions-Villanova University, Bryn Mawr College, and Cabrini University. Moreover, the instrument will support a range of integrated research and education projects and provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. This facility will also be integrated into three K-12 outreach activities with an expected enrollment of over 500 under-represented students. With a temperature range of -196 to about 1000°C and controlled gas/liquid environments, the confocal Raman microscope can provide high resolution and real-time structural and chemical fingerprints of materials and chemicals. Raman spectroscopy has a unique compatibility with aqueous or high temperature, particularly suited for biological and high temperature characterizations. Seven projects will be enabled at three institutions. They include investigations on solid oxide fuel cells to provide important insight into fuel reaction mechanisms, two dimensional materials to promote new synthetic methods and understanding of their structure-property relations under extreme conditions, energy storage materials for high-performance energy storage systems, spin-phonon coupling in multiferroic oxides to provide unprecedented evidence for the mechanism of multiferroicity, molecular mechanisms of cryo-injury for developing cell preservation technologies, molecular properties of intact drosophila hearts to provide insights on physiological aging. By addressing all these needs, the proposed instrument will greatly advance knowledge and promote interdisciplinary research in nanomaterials, thermal and chemical engineering, and bioengineering/biology.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.