The Biomedical Engineering Department is requesting an atomic force microscope (AFM) system to establish an AFM Laboratory as a shared resource at the Ohio State University (OSU) main campus in Columbus, OH. The requested instrument is a BioScope Resolve AFM system from Bruker. The system will be comprised of a Nanoscope V controller, a BioScope Resolve AFM and the Zeiss inverted light microscope Observer 7 along with a number of necessary AFM hardware and software accessories. The OSU main campus does not have any functional shared AFM instrumentation with integrated light microscopy, fluid imaging and high-throughput capabilities. The Bioscope Resolve is essential to accommodate the quantity and diversity of the research projects at OSU that will benefit by using the AFM technology. This proposal for acquiring a state-of-the art AFM system is being submitted on behalf of 9 major users (7 with NIH RO1 funding) and 4 minor users with NIH or other funding. The users come from five different Colleges across the OSU main campus, including Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Pharmacy. To fulfill the diverse AFM needs of the user group, a state-of-the-art AFM instrument is needed, which can accomplish high-resolution nanoscale imaging as well as nano-mechanical analysis with simultaneous light- microscopy capabilities. The NIH projects will use the requested Resolve AFM for evaluating molecular structures, mechanical mapping, examining adhesive forces, imaging sample topography and magnetic force microscopy. Acquisition of this AFM instrumentation will greatly enhance the research programs of the major and minor users and aid other biomedical investigators at OSU.
