MRI: Acquisition of a Quartz Crystal Microbalance and a Dynamic Light Scattering Apparatus for Undergraduate Education

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。在重大研究仪器项目(MRI)的这一奖项下，福曼大学的Jeffrey T.Petty、Karen L.Buchmueller和Timothy W.Hanks将获得一台石英晶体微天平和一台动态光散射仪。这些仪器的主要研究应用将是：(1)Janus纳米粒子的表征和超分子组装，(2)用于构建生物传感器的聚吡咯薄膜的表面修饰，(3)测量小分子和蛋白质之间对DNA结合位点的竞争，以及(4)研究Ag+如何影响核糖核苷酸5-单磷酸(5GMP)的聚集。石英微天平测量质量变化的灵敏度比电子天平大约100倍。它将被用来监测伴随缔合反应的结构、热力学和动力学变化。动态光散射仪将利用纳米结构对可见光的有效散射来了解局部分子相互作用如何驱动更大规模的组装。除了福尔曼的教职员工外，来自当地技术和社区学院的三名教职员工导师和他们的学生以及一名行业合作者将参与福尔曼的研究计划并使用这些仪器。这个研究环境将作为物理化学、生物化学和材料科学课程创新的试验场，这些课程强调分子相互作用的结构和热力学分析。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI), Jeffrey T. Petty, Karen L. Buchmueller and Timothy W. Hanks of Furman University will acquire a quartz crystal microbalance and a dynamic light scattering apparatus. The primary research applications of the instruments will be: (1) characterization and supramolecular assembly of Janus nanoparticles, (2) surface modification of polypyrrole films for biosensor construction, (3) measurement of the competition between small molecules and proteins for DNA binding sites, and (4)investigation of how Ag+ influences the aggregation of the ribonucleotide guanosine 5-monophosphate (5GMP).The quartz microbalance measures mass changes with a sensitivity that is ~100 times greater than an electronic balance. It will be used to monitor the structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic changes that accompany association reactions. The dynamic light scattering instrument will exploit the efficient scattering of visible light by nanostructures to understand how local molecular interactions drive the assembly of larger scale assemblies. Besides Furman faculty, three faculty mentors and their students from local technical and community colleges and an industrial collaborator will participate in the research program at Furman and use the instruments. This research environment will serve as the testing ground for innovations in the physical chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science courses that emphasize structural and thermodynamic analysis of molecular interactions.