Instrumentation for Polymer Purification and Self-Assembled Nanoparticle Characterization

我们寻求购买两种互补仪器的组合，这两种仪器对维多利亚大学Ian Manners(IM)研究小组的项目至关重要，特别是在自组装和新型聚合物材料领域。一台仪器将用于提纯聚合物，另一台将用于研究最终纯化材料的自组装，以形成功能纳米颗粒。*本提案中所针对的仪器组合的资金将对IM集团由NSERC支持的通过活结晶驱动自组装(CDSA)合成纳米颗粒的高活性领域的研究以及基于主基团或过渡元素的新功能聚合物的国际竞争力做出重要贡献。该仪器还将促进从光电子学、光催化、生物医学到自我修复等领域的目标应用的开发。*第一件设备是制备性规模凝胶渗透色谱(Prep-GPC)仪器，它将基于尺寸排除原理实现聚合物材料的纯化。该仪器将对嵌段共聚物和其他两亲性聚合物的纯化起到至关重要的作用。*纯化后，这些材料将用于IM组的自组装研究。这将产生自组装纳米粒子/胶束的解决方案，需要在溶液相中进行表征。为此，我们还寻求购买变温动态光散射(VT-DLS)仪器，具有可变温度可控平台和测量Zeta电位的能力。DLS可以通过分析溶液中样品的散射光来表征溶液中的纳米颗粒和胶体。在测量过程中改变温度的能力对于更深入地了解纳米粒子在非环境条件下的行为以及自组装机制至关重要。在一些体系中，纳米粒子的胶体稳定性是由表面电荷的排斥相互作用提供的，测量表面电荷的Zeta电位是进一步了解这些影响的关键。*所建议的仪器对于分别专注于超分子凝胶和生物材料的共同申请者组Cornelia Bohne(化学，UVic)和Mohsen Akbari(UVic，工程系)也是至关重要的。此外，UVic化学和生物医学工程系的其他5个小组(Moffitt、Wulff、Elvira、Willerth和Saidamiov)(Elvira和Saidamiov是最近聘用的教员)将广泛使用该设备。我们预计，总共约有60名博士生和博士后以及15名20名本科生将从拟议设备的使用中受益。

We seek to purchase a combination of two complementary instruments that are essential for projects in the Ian Manners (IM) research group at the University of Victoria, particularly in the areas of self-assembly and new polymeric materials. One instrument will be used to purify polymers and the other will then be used to study the self-assembly of the resulting purified materials to form functional nanoparticles.******The funding of the combination of instruments targeted in this proposal will make a vital contribution to the international competitiveness of the IM group's NSERC-supported research in the highly active fields of nanoparticle synthesis via living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) and also new functional polymers based on main group or transition elements. The instrumentation will also facilitate the development of targeted applications in areas from optoelectronics, photocatalysis, biomedicine, to self-healing.******The first piece of equipment is a preparative scale Gel Permeation Chromatography (Prep-GPC) instrument that will enable the purification of polymeric materials based on the principle of size-exclusion. This instrument will perform a vital function concerning the purification of block copolymers and other amphiphilic polymers.******Following purification, these materials will then be used for self-assembly studies in the IM group. These will yield solutions of self-assembled nanoparticles/micelles that necessitate characterization in the solution phase. For this reason we also seek to purchase a Variable Temperature Dynamic Light Scattering (VT-DLS) instrument with a variable temperature controllable stage and the capability to measure zeta-potentials. DLS permits the characterisation of nanoparticles and colloids in solution by analysing the light scattered by the sample in solution. The ability to vary the temperature during measurements is critical to gaining deeper insight into how nanoparticles behave under non-ambient conditions, as well as the mechanism of self-assembly. In some systems, colloidal stability of the nanoparticles is afforded by the repulsive interactions of surface charges, and measurement of zeta-potential in concert with size is key to further understanding these effects.******The proposed instrumentation is also vital for the groups of coapplicants Cornelia Bohne (Chemistry, UVic) and Mohsen Akbari (Department of Engineering, UVic) whom focus on supramolecular gels and biomaterials, respectively. In addition, 5 other groups in Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at UVic (Moffitt, Wulff, Elvira, Willerth and Saidaminov) (Elvira and Saidaminov are recently hired faculty) will use the equipment extensively. We anticipate that, in total, around 60 PhD students and Postdocs and 15 20 Undergraduates will benefit from use of the proposed equipment.*****