Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Small particles with diameters in the nanometer range (<1/1,000 of a millimeter) are used in a range of commercial products, including materials for manufacturing and the health sciences. More importantly, however, they hold the promise of enabling an increasing spectrum of new products and new technologies as research into nanotechnology intensifies.  The instrument to be purchased ("Zetasizer") measures the particle size in addition to a property known as the "zeta potential". Zeta potential is a measure of the electric charge on the surface of a particle, and being able to measure zeta potential provides a wealth of information on how the particle is going to respond in different environments.  The combination of particle size and zeta potential measurements is a powerful tool for furthering research into the design and preparation of nanoparticles. The Zetasizer will be a critical instrument in the research programs of four professors in the departments of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. There is an urgent need for this type of instrument to enable further meaningful discoveries and scientific/engineering advances in the applicants' research activities, which range from design and synthesis of polymer nanoparticles with advanced chemical and physical properties, to controlled delivery of therapeutics such as insulin within the human body, to design of novel structured building block materials for nanotechnology. Potential applications exist in the areas of biotechnology, health sciences, and advanced materials manufacturing. The Zetasizer will be a heavily used instrument, and will play an important role in training a generation of graduate students in the fundamentals of nanoparticle science and technology.