NSF Award
2019023
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 <br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.
