Mri: Acquisition Of An Integrated Fluorescence And Atomic Force Microscope (If-Afm) For Biophysics, Biomaterials And Nanomedicine Studies

<p>This award to Wayne State University is for the acquisition of an integrated fluorescence and atomic force microscope to create a new platform to perform nanoscale measurements of cell-particle interactions. AFM is a force-measuring and surface imaging technique that can provide very high spatial resolution, while fluorescence microscopy provides fast, large scale and specific imaging of cells. By combining the two, (1) single molecule force measurements will be correlated with biological microenvironments or events, (2) simultaneous fluorescence and AFM imaging for a fuller picture of biological systems and their dynamics will be perform, and (3) sophisticated fluorescence techniques, such as F?rster resonance energy transfer (FRET), can be correlated with AFM to measure applied forces to changes in structure. The combined instrumental platform will be used for interdisciplinary projects including single molecule interactions on live cells, optimization of DNA release from engineered polymer systems, cell motility studies, interactions of pathogens with cell surfaces, detection of food-borne bacteria, and dynamics and transport of magnetic nanoparticles in live cells. The new instrumental platform will be a user facility, available to researchers in physics, materials science, biomedical engineering, biology, chemistry, the basic medical sciences, and beyond. The collaborative use of this instrument is expected to foster interactions between different disciplines, and thus create new opportunities and ideas. The proposed research has clear potential to lead to new technologies and benefit human health. The new platform will be integrated into an advanced biophysics lab course, part of the Wayne State University undergraduate Biomedical Physics Program, which impacts a significant number of people from underrepresented groups. As a user facility, this new instrument will help to train and inspire future scientists and engineers.</p>