Steady-State Fluorometer with UV-Vis and NIR Detection

荧光及其许多应用是高分子材料在分子水平上表征的关键因素。荧光可以探测的聚合物材料的范围非常广泛，包括那些用于药物输送的材料，作为溶液增稠剂或胶体稳定剂，或在光伏电池中，仅举几个例子。荧光通过监测染料的行为来完成这项任务，这些染料要么是构成感兴趣的高分子材料的大分子的组成部分，要么是物理或共价结合到大分子上。荧光的主要优点是其极高的灵敏度，可以在溶液或固体状态下对聚合物浓度进行检测，从而提供有关分离大分子大小和内部动力学的定量信息。为了充分发挥荧光令人印象深刻的分析能力，荧光实验必须由该领域的专家在最先进的仪器上进行。事实证明，在过去的30年里，该项目的项目负责人一直使用荧光技术来表征溶液或固态中的大分子体系，他的实验室的科学成果已经在100多篇科学论文中被报道，使他成为该领域的专家。在他的实验室进行的所有研究项目都围绕着使用一个23年前的荧光计。不幸的是，旧的荧光计被过度使用，不能为所有学生提供足够的时间来充分进行他们的实验，由于其许多部件的随机故障而逐渐失效，这给本已不易接近的仪器增加了时间压力，并且该公司出售的最新荧光计已经经过了两代仪器，使其越来越难以维护。此外，荧光计没有近红外（NIR）检测能力，这是处理新型富碳材料（如富勒烯或碳纳米管）在近红外中发射的重要特征。因此，本提案是购买最先进的稳态荧光计（SSF），可以检测紫外线（UV），可见光（Vis）和近红外光谱中的光，以表征聚合物材料的特性。这将是华盛顿大学校园内的第一个此类项目。这将为三个共同申请人的学生提供急需的实验时间，使他们能够扩大三个共同申请人目前正在进行的荧光实验的类型和范围。

Fluorescence and its many applications is a key element in the characterization of polymeric materials at the molecular level. The breadth of polymeric materials that can be probed by fluorescence is impressively wide, including those being employed for drug delivery, as solution thickeners or colloidal stabilizers, or in photovoltaics, to name but a few applications. Fluorescence accomplishes this task by monitoring the behavior of dyes that are either an integral part of the macromolecule constituting the polymeric material of interest, or bound to the macromolecule physically or covalently. The main advantage of fluorescence is its extreme sensitivity that allows its detection at polymer concentrations that are so dilute in solution or in the solid state, that it provides quantitative information about the size and internal dynamics of isolated macromolecules. To achieve the full potential of the impressive analytical capabilities of fluorescence, fluorescence experiments must be conducted on state-of-the-art instruments by experts in the field. As it turns out, the PI for this grant has employed fluorescence to characterize macromolecular systems in solution or the solid state for the past 30 years and the scientific achievements of his laboratory have been reported in over 100 scientific papers which makes him an expert in the field. All research projects conducted in his laboratory revolve around the use of a a 23-year old fluorometer. Unfortunately the old fluorometer is overused, does not provide sufficient time for all students to conduct their experiments to the fullest, is slowly failing due to the random breakdown of many of its parts which adds time-pressure for an already poorly accessible instrument, and is two-instrument-generations past the most recent fluorometers being sold by the company making it increasingly difficult to maintain. Furthermore the fluorometer does not have near infrared (NIR) detection capability, an important feature to handle novel carbon-rich materials such as fullerenes or carbon nanotubes that emit in the NIR. Consequently, this proposal is to purchase a state-of-the-art steady-state fluorometer (SSF) that can detect light in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis), and NIR to characterize the properties of polymeric materials. It will be the first of its kind on the UW campus. It will provide dearly needed experimental time to the students of the three co-applicants and enable them to expand the type and scope of the fluorescence experiments that are being currently conducted by the three co-applicants.