Instrumentation for Polymer Purification and Self-Assembled Nanoparticle Characterization

我们寻求购买两种互补工具的组合，这两种工具对维多利亚大学的Ian Manners（IM）研究小组的项目至关重要，特别是在自组装和新聚合物材料领域。一台仪器将用于纯化聚合物，另一台将用于研究所得纯化材料的自组装以形成功能性纳米颗粒。该提案中针对的工具组合的资金将为IM集团的NSERC支持的研究的国际竞争力做出至关重要的贡献，这些研究涉及通过活性结晶驱动自组装（CDSA）合成纳米颗粒的高度活跃领域，以及基于主族或过渡元素的新功能聚合物。该仪器还将促进从光电子学、生物医学到自我修复等领域的目标应用的开发。第一件设备是制备规模的凝胶渗透色谱（Prep-GPC）仪器，它将能够根据尺寸排阻原理纯化聚合物材料。该仪器将在嵌段共聚物和其他两亲聚合物的纯化方面发挥重要作用。**纯化后，这些材料将用于IM组的自组装研究。这些将产生需要在溶液相中表征的自组装纳米颗粒/胶束的溶液。出于这个原因，我们还寻求购买一个可变温度动态光散射（VT-DLS）仪器，具有可变温度可控阶段和测量zeta电位的能力。DLS允许通过分析溶液中样品散射的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深入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。在某些系统中，纳米颗粒的胶体稳定性是由表面电荷的排斥相互作用提供的，并且与尺寸一致的zeta电位的测量是进一步理解这些效应的关键。拟议的仪器对于共同申请人科尔内利亚Bohne（化学，UVic）和Mohsen Akbari（工程系，UVic）的团队也至关重要，他们分别专注于超分子凝胶和生物材料。此外，UVic化学和生物医学工程的其他5个小组（Moffitt，Wulff，Elvira，Willerth和Saidaminov）（Elvira和Saidaminov是最近聘请的教师）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 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.*****