Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy for Chemical Analysis

在分析和表面化学计划中，这项研究项目将开发近场扫描光学显微镜技术，以表征“软”材料表面的结构和化学。除了解决仪器开发问题外，还将对扫描光学显微镜方法进行校准。将该方法应用于涉及生物界面、膜和有机单层的一些问题。微观技术的发展能够在这些困难的表面上提供非常高分辨率的结构信息，结合空间分辨光谱和化学信息，将在表面分析和表征领域产生非常广泛的影响。%表征生物和大分子样品表面结构的能力对于理解膜过程和聚合物性能至关重要。该项目正在进行的研究将为这些“软”材料表面的结构表征开发一种很有前途的新技术。这种扫描光学显微镜方法将对理解这一重要类别的材料产生重大影响。

This research project, in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, will develop the technique of Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy for the characterization of the surface structure and chemistry of "soft" material surfaces. In addition to work on problems of instrument development, calibration of the scanning optical microscopy methodology will be carried out. Application of the method to a number of problems involving biological interfaces, membranes, and organic monolayers will be pursued. The development of a microscopic technique which can provide very high resolution structural information on these difficult surfaces, in combination with spatially resolved spectroscopic and chemical information, will have a very wide impact in the field of surface analysis and characterization. %%% The ability to characterize the structure of the surfaces of biological and macromolecular samples is crucial to the understanding of membrane processes and polymer properties. The research being carried out in this project will develop a promising new technique for the structural characterization of these "soft" material surfaces. This scanning optical microscopy method will have a great impact on the understanding of this important class of materials.