Dynamic Light Scattering Instrumentation for Materials Development

动态光散射（DLS）是表征胶体尺寸和表面电荷的基础分析技术。它是约克大学化学、工程和生物学领域众多研究小组的关键基础设施，研究分析科学、生物医学工具、疫苗开发和环境监测的材料。动态光散射是唯一一种能快速提供胶体粒子大小和电荷信息的原位表征技术。具有不同尺寸和电势下的电荷的胶体以不同的速率扩散，并在散射信号中产生随机波动。定量信息，如流体动力学半径，zeta电位，和颗粒浓度，可以推导出这些波动的时间尺度的基础上，通过自相关信号处理。因此，DLS是非破坏性的，是表征不同溶剂中亚纳米至微米尺寸颗粒的理想选择，样品要求最少。它是唯一适合满足我们表征各种材料需求的设备，从无机纳米颗粒到聚合物、脂质囊泡、微球和微塑料。我们迫切需要这种设备，因为我们的研究，无论是在基础科学研究还是工业合作中，都面临着瓶颈和效率低下，因为我们依赖定性观察而不是定量信息。我们经常必须在没有验证目标胶体特性或生物分子相互作用的情况下进行实验，并且我们只能在更晚的阶段检测下游的问题。NSERC RTI将能够获得内部DLS仪器，该仪器将被至少5个研究小组和众多合作者充分利用。它将使所有HQP能够公平地获得基本的材料表征技术。

A cornerstone analytical technique for characterizing the size and surface charge of colloids is dynamic light scattering (DLS). It is a key missing infrastructure at York University for numerous groups across Chemistry, Engineering and Biology researching on materials for analytical sciences, biomedical tools, vaccine development and environmental monitoring. DLS is the only in situ characterization technique that provides size and charge information of colloids readily. Colloids with different sizes, and charges under an electric potential, diffuse at different rates and yield random fluctuations in the scattering signal. Quantitative information, such as the hydrodynamic radius, zeta potential, and particle concentration, can be deduced based on the time scale of these fluctuations via autocorrelation signal processing. As a result, DLS is non-destructive and ideal for characterizing subnanometer to micron-sized particles in different solvents with minimal sample requirement. It is the only suitable equipment to address our needs in characterizing a diverse range of materials, from inorganic nanoparticles to polymers, lipid vesicles, microspheres and microplastics. We urgently need this equipment because our research, both in fundamental scientific inquiry and industrial collaborations, is facing bottlenecks and inefficiencies as we rely on qualitative observations instead of quantitative information. We often must proceed with experiments without verification of the targeted colloidal properties or biomolecular interactions, and we are only able to detect a problem downstream at a much later stage. The NSERC RTI will enable the acquisition of an in-house DLS instrument that will be fully utilized by at least 5 research groups plus numerous collaborators. It will enable equitable access to a fundamental materials characterization technique for all HQP.