MRI TRACK I: Acquisition of a Super Resolution Module for Biological and Advanced Materials Imaging

光学显微镜对于许多科学领域的进步是不可或缺的。令人遗憾的是，由于光的物理本身，可以观察到的物体的大小有一个下限。这一障碍阻碍了对微小物体的调查。幸运的是，最近的进展帮助克服了这一障碍，产生了“超分辨率”显微镜。该奖项获得的特定超分辨率技术非常适合于对细胞中的动态对象以及实验室中创造的纳米颗粒进行成像。将利用显微镜的项目包括：研究高性能塑料类材料组装的材料科学家，研究阿尔茨海默氏症和遗传工具中重要细胞成分的细胞生物学家和生物化学家，以及研究与感染和植物-土壤相互作用有关的细菌群落结构的微生物学家。超分辨率显微镜的上市将为密西西比州的教职员工和学生提供尖端成像方面的培训机会。重点将放在服务不足的社区和小型学院和大学的教职员工身上，这项提案要求使用徕卡刺激发射耗尽3X超分辨率显微镜组件。该系统可以对小于光的衍射极限的纳米级物体成像，而不需要专门的荧光团、强烈的激光曝光和繁重的数据计算处理。因此，收购这一组成部分将使东道国研究所的许多项目以及该区域的其他学术研究受益。它将与现有的共焦显微镜集成在一起，该显微镜安装在南密西西比大学哈蒂斯堡校区的成像核心设施中并进行维护。核心是一个多用户设施，为密西西比州的学术科学家免费提供访问、咨询、培训和技术支持。该单元将支持核心设施的研究和教育任务，以及多研究所联合体支持的旨在设计有机化合物新光谱特性的项目。总而言之，这使得该系统成为一种高度可访问的工具，为即使是资源最有限的研究人员提供了一种尖端的成像模式，同时协同授权全州范围的项目推进其研究计划和教育使命。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Light-based microscopes are indispensable to the advancement of many scientific fields. Lamentably, there is a lower limit to the size of objects that can be observed due to physics of light itself. This barrier impedes investigation of minuscule objects. Fortunately, recent advances have helped overcome this hurdle, yielding “super-resolution” microscopes. The specific super-resolution technology acquired by this award is well-suited for imaging dynamic objects like those in cells as well as nanoparticles created in the laboratory. Projects that will take advantage of the microscope include: material scientists studying assembly of high performance plastic-like materials, cell biologists and biochemists investigating cell components important in Alzheimer’s and genetic tools, and microbiologists that examine bacterial community structures involved in infection and plant-soil interactions. Availability of the super-resolution microscope will provide opportunities for training in cutting-edge imaging for faculty and students throughout Mississippi. Emphasis will be placed on involving underserved communities and faculty at small colleges and universities This proposal requests a Leica Stimulated Emission Depletion 3X super resolution microscopy component. The system enables imaging of nano-scale objects smaller than the diffraction limit of light without the need for specialized fluorophores, intense laser exposure, and heavy computational processing of data. Thus, acquisition of the component will benefit numerous projects at the host institute as well as other academic research in the region. It will integrate with an existing confocal microscope housed and maintained in an imaging core facility on the University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg campus. The core is a multi-user facility that provides access, consultation, training, and technical support free of charge to Mississippi academic scientists. The module will support the research and education missions of the core facility along with projects supported by multi-institute consortia aimed at engineering novel spectral properties in organic compounds. Together this makes the system a highly accessible instrument, offering a cutting-edge imaging mode to even the most resource limited researchers, while synergistically empowering statewide programs to advance their research programs and education missions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.