ATR-FTIR microscope and fluid cell for tracking hierarchical assembly of molecules to materials

ATR-FTIR 显微镜和流体池用于跟踪分子到材料的分层组装

• 批准号: RTI-2021-00152
• 负责人: Harrington, Matthew
• 金额: $ 10.93万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=718807
• 关键词: ATR; FTIR; microscope; fluid; cell

Based on urgent needs within several NSERC-funded projects, we propose to purchase an FTIR microscope with ATR objective and polarizer for investigating biopolymeric and polymeric materials and a coupled ATR fluid flow cell for investigating biopolymer/polymer solutions. The special features provide a one-stop device capable of following an entire material fabrication process spectroscopically from precursor solution to hierarchically structured material. For example, an ATR objective will enable local spectral measurements on heterogenous biological tissues without damaging sample preparation, while polarization dependent spectra provide information about anisotropic molecular arrangement in hierarchically structured materials. In addition, an ATR fluid flow cell enables small volume measurements of dilute solutions under different buffering conditions/temperature or flowing solutions over the ATR crystal to observe structural changes in situ. Within the proposed research projects, this infrastructure will enable: 1) Characterization of biological material assembly processes and the use of extracted principles to produce sustainable bio-inspired materials and tissue scaffolds (Harrington). 2) Analysis of recombinant protein building blocks towards production of smart devices, including wearable electronics and sensors (Dorval Courchesne). 3) Investigation of diseased bone in an avian model system toward development and assessment of specific targeted treatments (Willie). This work has tangible benefits in two main areas health and sustainable materials. a) Efforts to elucidate the nature of diseased tissue and to generate hierarchically structured tissue scaffolds will have an important impact in the areas of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine with benefits for aging Canadians. b) Waste accumulation from plastics is a major environmental threat. Our efforts to understand the assembly principles of sustainably produced biological materials may inspire greener fabrication processes for advanced materials with tangible environmental impacts, establishing Canada as a world leader in the Green Materials revolution. In addition, the requested infrastructure will provide essential hands on training of HQP within the research groups. This is integral to the well-rounded cross-disciplinary training they receive, providing a skillset sought after in the academic, industrial and health sectors. The current lack of availability to a device with these necessary parameters has significantly impeded a number of HQP projects in the Harrington and Willie groups, while access to this infrastructure will fill a major gap in the research of Dorval-Courchesne. This infrastructure will benefit beyond the described research plans, as it will be associated with the McGill Institute of Advanced Materials (MIAM) of which Harrington is a co-director, thus reaching the Montreal materials community.

基于NSERC资助的几个项目的迫切需求，我们建议购买一台带有ATR物镜和偏振器的FTIR显微镜，用于研究生物聚合物和聚合物材料，以及一个耦合的ATR流体流动池，用于研究生物聚合物/聚合物溶液。这些特殊功能提供了一种一站式设备，能够在光谱上跟踪从前体溶液到分层结构材料的整个材料制造过程。例如，ATR物镜将能够在不破坏样品制备的情况下对异质生物组织进行局部光谱测量，而偏振相关光谱提供关于分层结构材料中各向异性分子排列的信息。此外，ATR流体流动池能够在不同缓冲条件/温度下对稀释溶液进行小体积测量，或使溶液流过ATR晶体，以观察原位结构变化。 在拟议的研究项目中，这一基础设施将使：1）生物材料组装过程的表征和使用提取的原则，以生产可持续的生物启发材料和组织支架（哈灵顿）。2)分析重组蛋白构建模块，以生产智能设备，包括可穿戴电子设备和传感器（Dorval Courchesne）。3)研究禽类模型系统中的病变骨，以开发和评估特异性靶向治疗（Willie）。这项工作在健康和可持续材料两个主要领域产生了切实的效益。a）阐明患病组织的性质和产生分层结构组织支架的努力将在组织工程和再生医学领域产生重要影响，并对加拿大老年人有益。B）塑料废物的积累是一个主要的环境威胁。我们努力了解可持续生产的生物材料的组装原理，可能会激发具有切实环境影响的先进材料的绿色制造工艺，使加拿大成为绿色材料革命的世界领导者。 此外，所要求的基础设施将为研究小组内的HQP提供基本的实践培训。这是他们所接受的全面的跨学科培训的组成部分，提供了学术，工业和卫生部门所追求的技能。目前缺乏具有这些必要参数的设备的可用性，这极大地阻碍了哈灵顿和威利小组的一些HQP项目，而获得这种基础设施将填补Dorval-Courchesne研究中的一个主要空白。这一基础设施将受益于所描述的研究计划，因为它将与麦吉尔先进材料研究所（MIAM），其中哈灵顿是联合主任，从而达到蒙特利尔材料界。