MRI-R2: Acquisition of High-Voltage Transmission Electron Microscope

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

0958574 Katz "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." The University of Missouri, Columbia, proposes to acquire a 300 kV transmission electron microscope (TEM). To meet the needs of a large user group, this microscope will be equipped with the following features: scanning transmission accessory, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, high-angle annular dark field imaging capability, electron energy loss spectroscopy, energy filtering, cryo stage, and tomography function. The instrument will be housed in the University Electron Microscopy Core Facility (EMC). The director and staff of the EMC will be responsible for maintaining the instrument and for assisting and training users. This instrument will primarily serve a diverse group of scientists and engineers whose work involves fabrication and characterization of materials at the nanometer scale. For example, one of the research groups that would use the instrument is involved in the fabrication of nanopores that would regulate the permeability of membranes in response to the binding of specific ligands and thus would serve as detectors for the ligands. The instrument will be used to characterize the nanopores and nanopore-ligand interactions. This will aid in the optimization of nanopore-membrane detector design. Other investigators would use the instrument to assist in the development of bioremediation of toxins and pollutants. For example, one research group will use the X-ray spectroscopy feature of the microscope to assess the ability of microorganisms to sequester heavy metal contaminants from water. Finally, some of the researchers will use the instrument to answer basic biological questions, such as the organization of organelles within cells under various conditions. The cryo stage and tomography will be particularly helpful in these types of studies. The EMC will use the instrument and its accessories to train faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows in the principles of transmission electron microscopy and in the use of the various accessories of the instrument and how these tools can be applied to further their research endeavors. Access to the instrument will enhance training in the many areas where it can be employed to advance investigations that would not otherwise be possible.