MRI: Acquisition of an Atomic Force Microscope

This NSF MRI acquisition will assist the University of North Dakota (UND) in acquiring an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) in support of multi-disciplinary research of national interest. The AFM has wide applications among faculty from the science, engineering and medical fields. It will be used to advance materials that can be used for prosthetics and surgical devices and to help develop new biodegradable plastics and pavement materials.

It will be used in the development of renewable energy systems and to enhance the capture of carbon. This acquisition directly impacts the careers of the eight primary participants in this proposal, including two female, one Native American, and one first-year faculty member. Users include faculty from the United Tribes Technical College (UTTC).

This proposed research activities will enhance enrollment in STEM disciplines and prepare students for STEM careers. The instrument will support faculty members from three separate colleges and approximately 25 graduate and 35 undergraduate students, including students who are women and underrepresented minorities.

The Bruker NanoWizard 4XP AFM to be acquired features high-resolution imaging and quantitative nanomechanic capabilities available for use with both top view and inverted optical microscopy, crucial to the co-PIs with life and materials science projects. PeakForce Tapping (PFT) based image acquisition techniques enable control of imaging forces at the pN-level, increasing resolution.

Damaging lateral forces are eliminated, enabling high resolution scanning on soft and fragile samples, even in liquid, making it ideal for both materials research and biological samples. The minimum lateral force component of the PFT makes it capable of imaging loosely bound samples on a substrate; therefore, the use of a denaturing fixative or complicated surface chemistry for sample fixation can be avoided.

These features allow the team to study the correlation between a polymer’s structure and its physical properties, examine the organic matter in shale plays to determine the mechanisms of expulsion and storage of hydrocarbons, examine how the incorporation of magnetic atoms affects the thermoelectric properties of materials, and to investigate the physical and chemical interactions between specific antibodies and antimicrobial coatings for surfaces.

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.