Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Our team of scientists and engineers (2 co-applicants and 7 collaborators/major users) is urgently requesting funds for the critical replacement of our optical tensiometer to replace a failed instrument that enhances our innovative biological and materials science research and to ensure the continued excellence of the surface characterization facilities at the Centre for NanoScience Research (CeNSR) in Concordia's new state-of-the art Applied Science Hub. The versatil optical tensiometer can be used in pendant and sessile drop modes, address liquid-air, liquid-liquid and liquid solid interfaces, and yield parameters including dynamic surface tension, adsorption kinetics, dilatational surface rheology, static & dynamic contact angles, surface wettability, energy and roughness and the instrument would be one of the first such cutting edge instruments in Canada.  The co-applicants have a strong record of collaborative research employing optical tensiometry as part of a toolbox to investigate the impact of airborne species (including airborne pollutants, vaping additives and aerosol drug formulations) on the functional properties of pulmonary surfactant, the first line of defence to inhaled foreign species.  Together with the named collaborators, the optical tensiometer will support a broad spectrum of research including applications in biophysical chemistry, drug delivery, environmental pollutants, water harvesting, energy capture, storage and transport, molecular electronics and sensors. The instrument will be made available, free of charge, to users in CeNSR and the Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials, thus reaching an extensive user base across the region. With both basic contact angle and advanced tensiometry modes, the technique can be employed by a wide-range of HQP from undergraduate to postdoctoral level researchers and will contribute to the training of the next-generation of materials scientists and engineers, ready for academic and industrial positions in diverse industries from quality control, electronics, aerospace and automotive to environmental science, biomedical devices and sensors, to name just a few.