Acquisition of Equipment for Analytical Scanning Electron Microscopy with Applications in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Engineering

在Fredrik Ronquist博士的指导下，佛罗里达州立大学获得了一笔赠款，用于部分支持购置一台带有场发射枪的扫描电子显微镜、一个可变压力样品室、一个冷冻转移装置和一个元素微量分析装置。该设备将提供许多目前在北佛罗里达地区无法获得的显微镜检查技术，将由生物学家、化学家、工程师、佛罗里达州立大学和佛罗里达农业与机械大学的地质学家以及该地区其他大学和学院的同事。场发射枪可以在低和高分辨率下成像，高放大率。它还在低加速电压下大大提高了性能，从而可以对未涂覆的样品或在电子束中有充电和改变趋势的样品进行高倍放大检查。通过引入气体来提高检查室中的压力的可能性也有助于敏感样品的检查。冷冻转移设备用于快速冷冻标本，以便随后以冷冻状态转移到显微镜室中。使用该设备，可以观察自然状态下未固定的冷冻材料。最后，X射线显微分析设备可用于分析样品表面的成分。新仪器将用于广泛的应用，包括研究聚合物;医学工程中重要的细胞和组织细节;果蝇/突变体;恐龙、鸟类和哺乳动物的牙齿和其他骨骼结构;蜻蜓的骨骼形态（蚂蚁、黄蜂和蜜蜂）;花的形态;以及深海沉积物中粘土和化石硅藻组合的结构。化学领域的五个研究小组正在研究基于纳米尺度操作的不同类型的新型材料。 新的显微镜设备将支持许多教职员工的研究，但也将用于教育和研究培训的代表性不足的群体。其他将受益于新设备的具有广泛影响的活动包括哈罗德·克罗托爵士通过Vega科学信托基金普及科学的努力，Vega科学信托基金是第一个免费的科学节目互联网广播公司，MorphBank项目旨在为基于图像的生物学科（如比较形态学和生物多样性研究）提供一个网络平台。

A grant has been awarded to the Florida State University under the direction of Dr. Fredrik Ronquist for partial support of the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope with a field emission gun, a variable-pressure specimen chamber, a cryotransfer unit, and an elemental microanalysis unit. The equipment will offer a number of microscopic examination techniques that are not available today in the north Florida region and will be used by biologists, chemists, engineers, and geologists at the Florida State University and the Florida Agircultural and Mechanical University and by colleagues at other universities and colleges in the region.The field emission gun allows imaging with extraordinary contrast and large depth of focus at both low and high magnifications. It also gives greatly improved performance at low acceleration voltages, which allows high-magnification examination of uncoated samples or samples that have a tendency to charge and alter in the electron beam. The possibility of raising the pressure in the examination chamber by introducing a gas can also help in the examination of sensitive samples. The cryotransfer equipment is used for rapid freezing of a specimen for subsequent transfer in the frozen state into the microscope chamber. With this equipment it is possible to observe unfixed frozen material in its natural state. Finally, the X-ray microanalysis equipment allows analysis of the composition of the sample surface.The new instrument will be used for a wide range of applications including studies of polymers; cellular and tissue details important in medical engineering; /Drosophila/ mutants; teeth and other skeletal structures in dinosaurs, birds and mammals; skeletal morphology of hymenopterans (ants, wasps and bees); flower morphology; and structure of clays and fossil diatom assemblages in deep sea sediments. Five research groups in Chemistry are studying different types of novel materials based on nano-scale manipulation. The new microscope equipment will support the research of many faculty members but will also be used in education and research training of underrepresented groups. Other examples of activities with broad impact that will benefit from the new equipment include Sir Harold Kroto's efforts to popularize science through the Vega Science Trust, the first free Internet broadcaster of science programs, and the MorphBank project, aimed at providing a web platform for international collaboration in image-based biological disciplines such as comparative morphology and biodiversity research.