ABSTRACT T. Alan Hatton MIT CTS-9500227 The Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology intends to purchase a SPEX Fluorolog-t2 Fluorescence Spectrometer which will be dedicated to support research in engineering. This instrument will be used for several research projects in the environmental, biological and materials areas to probe the microenvironments afforded by different microdomains in systems such as: (i) Block copolymer micelles and dendritic star polymers to be used as solubilization media for separations and reactions; (ii) tailored self-assembled organic surfaces for chromatographic and sensor applications; (iii) novel solvents for pharmaceutical synthesis reactions, including supercritical fluid media; (iv) colloidal nanocrystals for photocatalytic applications; (v) chemically-modified fluoresces; and (vi) proteins tethered to polymers as ligands for cell-surface receptors. Information on micropolarities, mocroviscosities, restrictions on rotational and transitional motion of probes, and specific and non-specific solvation effects can be obtained using steady state and time-resolved fluorescence and depolarization. Dynamics of exchange of probes between different microdomins (e.g., micelles, thin films, protein active sties, inorganic adsorbates) will be quantified, and the sizes of microdomains such as micelles determined. These results will be useful in the design of microheterogeneous systems for the range of application considered.
