Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

We urgently need funding for a freeze dryer to support active research programs in materials science, biological chemistry, and analytical chemistry. Freeze drying, or lyophilization, is a dehydration technique that facilitates the removal of water or solvents under a vacuum from previously frozen samples. Freeze drying is generally employed for the concentration of temperature-sensitive compounds and for the preservation of biological products such as enzymes, strains of microorganisms, and environmental samples. For materials characterization, freeze drying is a critical step for preserving porosity in materials and enabling visualization of the structure by electron microscopy and other techniques. Significant new discoveries are anticipated using the freeze dryer, such as the development of catalytic nanomaterials supported on chitin nanocrystal aerogels, new drugs for treating Alzheimer's, and a better understanding of the formation of ice crystals on aerosol particles in the atmosphere. The freeze dryer will be situated in the Biological Research Facility (BioServices) in the Chemistry Department at UBC. BioServices is a facility entirely devoted to offering comprehensive biological research support customized to the specific needs of interdisciplinary research programs in chemistry. The facility is specially designed for molecular and cell biology research and certified for work with Class II biohazard pathogens. Placing the freeze dryer in this well-supported facility will ensure that it is available to numerous NSERC-funded researchers. As well, the full-time staff in the facility have extensive experience working with freeze dryers and related equipment, and will be able to ensure proper maintenance of the equipment. The freeze dryer is critical to the training of our HQP. Grad students, undergrad students, and post-docs will obtain hands-on training with the freeze dryer from the staff in the BioServices facility (who have more than 30 years of experience with freeze dryers) to prepare aerogels, porous cellulosic materials, porous chitin materials, and compounds for important studies in the areas of protein chemistry, anticancer compound discovery, antibiotics, enzymes, high-throughput screening, nanomechanical devices, and biomedical applications.