Raman microscope

拉曼显微镜用于在分子水平上检查材料的结构。这四名研究人员正在对各种各样的材料进行研究，包括生物组织样本、食品供应中的微生物、真菌（从食品供应中的污染物到根系正常生长所需的有益真菌），以及用于生物传感和功能化导电聚合物的新材料。和普通显微镜一样，镜子和放大镜可以让操作者看到微小物体的细节。拉曼显微镜的不同之处在于，物体是用激光照射的，激光通过显微镜照射到样品上。散射光的颜色可能会改变，其模式取决于材料的分子组成。拉曼显微镜检测系统允许我们记录散射光的波长和数量。从这些数据中，我们可以识别被照亮区域的分子成分。我们将使用电动平台扫描整个样品，比较样品中一个区域的成分与其他地方的成分。对于需要这种设备的研究人员来说，这意味着我们可以评估从聚合物涂层到细菌等材料的组成和物理性质。最近的技术进步使鉴定单个活细胞内微量的物质成为可能；真菌基因突变的后果可以从其化学成分的变化中识别出来。我们可以研究新材料结构的差异，设计它们的电子特性来制造生物传感器。我们可以在健康和受损组织中寻找分子差异，这将有助于我们了解伤口愈合的分子本质，并测试潜在的治疗方法。这台仪器将提供这所大学目前没有的能力，这将有助于在竞争激烈、前沿、经济和技术重要领域工作的四位独立科学家的成功。它将为数十名年轻科学家提供培训机会，从本科生、研究生到博士后。

The Raman microscope is used to examine the structure of materials at a molecular level. The four researchers involved are conducting studies on a wide variety of materials, including biological tissue samples, microorganisms in our food supply, fungi (from contaminants in food supply to helpful fungi required for proper root growth), and new materials for biosensing and functionalized conducting polymers.      As with an ordinary microscope,  mirrors and magnifying lenses let the operator see small objects in detail. The difference in the Raman microscope is that the object is illuminated with laser light that is sent through the microscope and onto the sample. The colour of the light that is scattered may be changed, in patterns that depend on the molecular composition of the material. The Raman microscope detection system allows us to record the wavelengths and amounts of light scattered. From this data, we can identify the molecular components in the area illuminated. We will use the motorized platform to scan across the sample, comparing the composition in one region to that elsewhere in the sample.      For the researchers requesting this equipment, this means that we can evaluate the composition and physical properties of materials from polymer coatings to bacteria. Recent technical advances permit identification of minute amounts of material inside a single living cell; the consequences of genetic mutations in fungi can be identified from the changes in their chemical composition. We can study differences in the structure of new materials and design their electronic properties to create biosensors.  We can look for molecular differences in healthy and damaged tissue that will help us to understand the molecular nature of wound healing and test potential therapeutics. This instrument will provide a capability, currently not available at this university, that will contribute to the success of four independent scientists who are working in competitive, cutting-edge, economically and technologically important fields. It will provide training opportunities for scores of young scientists, from undergraduate and graduate students to post-doctoral fellows.