High Vacuum Carbon and Metal Coater for Electron Microscopy Samples

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A high vacuum carbon and metal coater is essential equipment to prepare samples for both transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) applications. TEM and SEM are used by the co-applicants in the UBC Bioimaging Facility (BIF) to resolve plant cell, food products, and bioproducts structures at the nanometer scale. Funding is requested to purchase a new high vacuum coater that has three capabilities: 1) to deposit ultra-thin carbon films at uniform thickness crucial for SEM and electron diffraction X-ray (EDX) analysis, as well as stabilizing sample-supporting films on TEM grids; 2) to coat samples with metal for high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM); and 3) to make TEM sample grids hydrophilic to spread aqueous samples, such as cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibrils, uniformly over the grid. The equipment will be support BIF's one SEM and three TEMs. The ability produce high-quality carbon and metal coated thin films that would meet our urgent research needs to prepare samples for high-resolution SEM, EDX and TEM analysis on non-conductive nanoscale samples at UBC Vancouver. The Samuels lab (BOTA) will use the high vacuum carbon and metal coater to prepare plant samples for SEM, both in developing poplar wood and in the trichomes of cannabis plants. In addition, for high-resolution studies of cannabis trichomes that produce large quantities of THC, the Samuels lab requires the coater in order to reinforce TEM grids to support samples during electron tomography. The Singh lab (Faculty of Land and Food Systems) uses SEM to examine a variety of bioactive compounds such as recombinant proteins, food additives and spray dried microparticles. In order to investigate the distribution pattern of metallic nanoparticles in the microsphere structure, the high vacuum coater is required to coat samples with ultra-thin carbon and metal at uniform thickness for the ultrahigh-resolution analysis of SEM and EDX. The Foster lab (CHBE) works on development of bionanomaterials that are polymers and nanocomposites. The carbon and metal coating are their routine sample preparation workflow to characterize these new materials using SEM and TEM. Purchase of this equipment will benefit not only the co-applicants' labs, but the many future researchers who conduct high-resolution SEM and TEM analysis at the UBC Bioimaging facility. As BIF is a campus-wide shared research facility, this equipment is widely used, e.g. BIF's previous low vacuum coater at the facility was used by 12 HQP from 10 different UBC research groups last year. Unfortunately, the old coating equipment is now out of order and not repairable.Two dedicated staff at the facility will provide training and support to HQPs for ultrathin coating on their samples.  A delay in purchasing the high vacuum coater could negatively impact the thesis and research progress of the estimated 10-20 HQPs relying on this equipment.