Acquisition of a Benchtop Scanning Electron Microscope to Further Facilitate Undergraduate Research

项目概要 带有金溅射镀膜机的台式扫描电子显微镜（SEM）将进一步促进 沃希托浸会大学 (Ouachita Baptist University) 正在积极的 R16 奖下进行本科生研究 “具有止血性能的可降解纤维的开发”。如果获得，本科研究生 将接受该仪器的培训并利用它来观察形态并分析直径 静电纺丝纳米纤维。然后，该数据将用于确定最佳静电纺丝条件 始终如一地生产均匀的纤维。 SEM 还可用于观察以下内容： 氯化钙溶液处理对纤维支架形态的影响。 在生理条件下，纳米纤维垫随着时间的推移而降解。 将酶加载到支架中会引起纳米纤维的形态变化。 纤维上 NIH 3T3 细胞的形态与对照基质上细胞的形态相比。 目前，本科生研究人员使用配备有 100 倍目标验证他们正在使用静电纺丝工艺制造聚合物纤维。脚手架 随后，样本在一个多小时内被送往阿肯色大学小石城分校的成像设施 并在 SEM 上进行分析，收集有关纤维垫形态和纤维直径的数据。和外面一样 用户可能需要数周时间才能从成像设备接收数据，而学生没有机会 使用扫描电镜。这种漫长的等待时间可以被消除，学生可以获得有价值的研究 沃希托学生在校园参加 SEM 的经历。 台式 SEM 几乎不需要日常维护，因此本科生可以 使用仪器无需仪器设施管理员。台式 SEM 提供非常高的 高质量、高倍率显微照片，特别是当非导电样品涂有一层 分析前镀薄层金。台式 SEM 还具有可轻松实现光纤扫描的软件包 分析以提供有关所选显微照片的纤维直径和平均纤维方向等信息。 利用这些软件功能将提高学生分析数据的速度 收集了不同的纤维垫样品。 如果沃希托在校园内购买一台台式 SEM，这将提供重要的研究和 为学生提供仪器仪表培训经验。它不仅可以为他们提供宝贵的技能 这对他们的职业生涯至关重要，但也将加快研究速度并进一步扩大对教师的培训。

PROJECT SUMMARY A benchtop scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a gold sputter coater would further facilitate undergraduate research being conducted at Ouachita Baptist University under the active R16 award “Development of Degradable Fibers with Hemostatic Properties”. If acquired, undergraduate research students would be trained on this instrument and would utilize it to observe the morphology and analyze the diameters of electrospun nanofibers. This data would then be used to determine optimal electrospinning conditions to consistently produce uniform fibers. The SEM would also be used to observe the following: Impact of calcium chloride solution treatments on fiber scaffold morphology. Degradation of nanofibrous mats over time under physiological conditions. Morphological changes to nanofibers cause by loading enzymes into the scaffolds. Morphology of NIH 3T3 cells on fibers as compared to that of cells on control substrates. Currently, undergraduate researchers utilize a digital transmitted light inverted microscope equipped with a 100x objective to verify that they are creating polymer-based fibers using an electrospinning process. Scaffold samples are subsequently sent to an imaging facility at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock over an hour away to be analyzed on a SEM to collect data regarding fiber mat morphology and fiber diameters. As outside users, it can take weeks to receive data from an imaging facility and students are not given the opportunity to use the SEM. This lengthy wait time could be eliminated and students could gain valuable research experiences if Ouachita students had an SEM on campus. Benchtop SEMs require very little day-to-day maintenance making it feasible for undergraduate students to use the instrument without the need for an instrumentation facility manager. Benchtop SEMs provide very high quality, high magnification micrographs, particularly when non-conductive samples have been coated with a thin layer of gold prior to analysis. Benchtop SEMs also have software packages that enable facile fiber analysis to provide information such as fiber diameters and mean fiber direction about a selected micrograph. Taking advantage of these software capabilities will increase the rate at which students can analyze data they have collected on different fiber mat samples. If Ouachita were to acquire a benchtop SEM on campus, this would provide a significant research and instrumentation training experience for students. Not only would it provide them with valuable skills that will be essential in their careers but it would also expedite research and further expand training for faculty as well.