Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

This grant will be used to purchase equipment allowing the accurate evaluation of changes that occur in biological samples by optical microscopy in real-time while performing mechanical testing. Specifically, this will allow monitoring of morphology (i.e., by brightfield or phase contrast microscopy) and/or biophysical behaviour (i.e., using polarized light microscopy) of a wide variety of sample types while applying a highly accurately measured force to stretch or compress the sample in a controlled manner. This equipment will enable entirely new experimental capabilities and providing functionality that will both support and enhance several research programs at Dalhousie University and Saint Mary's University. The research programs to be supported are working to understand both the way that materials performance, such as strength and elasticity, is related to the way in which the material is made and also to determine how and why processes such as repeated strain may affect the function of tissue components in the body such as tendons or ligaments. The types of materials studied by the team are highly diverse. One class of material is spider silk fibres, which have strength and energy absorbance rivalling or exceeding human-made materials, while also being sustainable and compatible with use in the body. Proteins from mussels that have intriguing adhesive properties, even under water, are a second material building block to be evaluated by the team. Third, collagen is the main component of connective tissue in the body and is a major target of study by the team, with new ways to produce collagen-based materials with controlled features being developed alongside an understanding of the way in which aging or injury changes collagen in natural tissues. The team also studies a broad range of other materials, including both naturally-sourced and synthetic polymer-based materials. In each of these cases, the types of materials targeted are typically around the diameter of a human hair or smaller, making use of microscopy rather than visualization by naked eye essential. The ability to observe changes that occur in these materials while also applying a controlled and quantified force to stretch or compress the material will be absolutely transformative in allowing team members and their trainees to much better understand and predict the way their materials change at the molecular level while force is applied and to directly relate this to changes in strength and/or elasticity in these materials. This instrument will be located in Dalhousie's Biophysical Analysis Facility, ensuring straightforward access, booking, and training for all of the co-applicants and to many other researchers at Dalhousie, Saint Mary's, and beyond. It will be operated directly by students and other highly qualified personnel as a part of their research training, with expert mentoring in hands-on use of the equipment and in analysis and interpretation of the resulting data.