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

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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.