GA Tech, Marcus Nano Center: Available tools for the biomedical industry and inorganic material analysis
Two bays, classified at BioSafety Level-2
The BSL-2 space is currently being used for sample preparation and other wet processes involving biological materials. Supporting equipments within the BSL-2 labs includes two biosafety cabinets, four fume hoods, an autoclave, a microcentrifuge, a CO2 incubator, a inspection microscope, UV-Vis spectrometer, sample freezer, sample refrigerator, a ultrasonic bath, a critical point dryer, a vortex mixer, an orbital shaker, and a balance.
Six bays, classified at BioSafety Level-1
Tools available at BSL-1 organic clean room:
Jetlab II inket-style printer has piezoelectric print heads with 4 independent fluid reservoirs and print heads for multiple material depositions. It can have 15-150um droplet size depending on the orifice size with drop-on-demand and print-on-the-fly modes which allows for printing droplets of known volume as well as extreme flexibility of the substrate being used. The system has strobe illumination for visualization of droplet formation with volume analysis to determine the size of the droplets and high resolution sample viewing.
BioForce NanoeNabler printer is a multifunctional surface patterning platform for dispensing attoliter to femtoliter volumes of biomolecules, nanoparticles and other liquids onto a wide variety of surfaces. It prints spots and lines from 1 to 60 microns, 100msec printing cycle, 20 nm stage resolution, 50 mm XY travel, and has multiplexing capability. This allows it to be faster and more flexible than conventional technologies with no clogging or misalignment problems.
Olympus LEXT OLS-4000 is a new confocal laser scanning microscope designed for sub-micron imaging with high resolution and accurate three-dimensional measurement capability. Simultaneous high precision 3D and "true color" imaging are possible at many different magnifications, with different microscopy techniques such as brightfield, darkfield, and differential interference contrast microscopy available.
qSense Quartz Crystal Microbalance with dissipation monitors the response of the freely oscillating crystal. By collecting both the dissipation and the resonance frequency of a quartz crystal, QCM-D technology can be used to characterize the formation of thin films (nm) such as proteins, polymers and cells onto surfaces, in liquid. The resonance frequency (f) of the crystal depends on the total oscillating mass, including water coupled to the oscillation. When a thin film is attached to the sensor crystal, the frequency decreases. If the film is thin and rigid the decrease in frequency is proportional to the mass of the film. The provided modeling and analysis software enables quantification of viscosity, elasticity, and thickness of any soft film, while reaction kinetics can be extracted as well.
Hitachi 3700H Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope with EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy) has a resolution of 4nm and can handle large samples up to 300mm in diameter with an observable area up to 203mm in diameter. The system features automatic beam alignment functions and significantly higher probe currents for brilliant imaging at selected lower accelerating voltages. It also has an ultra-high-tilt stage (-20 to +90 degrees) and can accommodate samples up to 110mm in height. The system features an EDS detector which allows mapping of the chemical makeup of the sample. It enables the study of any kind of wet or dirty samples as well as imaging biologicals that need to retain moisture.
Thermo Scientific K-Alpha Xray Photoelectron Spectrometer is a high performance surface analysis instrument that is fully integrated with a monochromatic small-spot beam. It operates by collecting the electrons emitted from the sample when the x-ray beam strikes the surface, thus collecting information on the top 1-10nm. The tool can also be used in a depth profiling mode to determine the composition of various thin layers. This tool can be used to study an extremely wide variety of samples, including biological samples.
Ramé-hart Model 250 goniometer is a software-driven instrument providing automated digital contact angle measurements. This instrument has been furnished with a 4" rotating wafer support stage and automated tilting base option. The Model 250 is also a tensiometer and has advanced software for surface energy measurements as well as surface tension and dynamic studies. Advancing and receding contact angles are readily determined by inclining the substrate and allowing the drop to deform as a function of gravity.
IZON qNanao is a nanoparticle research instrument to provide particle detection and measurement capabilities based on scanning ion occlusion spectroscopy (SIOS). Combined with Izon's dynamically adjustable nanopores, the qNano delivers a research tool for determination of particle size, distribution, charge, and concentration.
Contact:
Garry Spinner
404-894-4010
Jie Xu
404-407-6122