NanoWizard V Atomic Force Microscope for Biomedical Research

Project Abstract Many of our users, in the Atomic Force Microscopy core facility at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth), are transitioning to more complex experimental protocols in the nanomedical sciences. We are seeking support to upgrade our current BioScope-2 microscope to a NanoWizard V Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) from Bruker Nano, Inc., as a shared resource. This new system will replace a 17-year-old outdated AFM controller. Our existing Bioscope-2 AFM (2006) is obsolete, with limited applications, and incompatible with newer CPUs. It is aging, and frequently crashes during experiments acquiring unreliable data. It has an increasing downtime and leads to loss of valuable samples, limiting our efficiency and capabilities. The new state-of-the-art NanoWizard V will provide enhanced applications to satisfy the more challenging requests of our users working in leading research. It will be managed using the well-established infrastructure already in place at our AFM core, which has a continuous project flow. It will be available to all investigators at the Medical Center in Houston, in the spirit of enhancing collaborative efforts in the health sciences. The institutions that this new acquisition will be available to include the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, Methodist Research Institute, and the University of Houston, among others. This proposal will directly impact the research programs of 11 investigators, including 10 NIH-funded users. The S10 users represent faculty from six different departments within UTHealth and from one other neighboring institution. The NanoWizard V is the leader in BioAFM mechanobiology. It has emerged as a key platform for studying the structural and nanomechanical properties of living systems. With its high pixel density mapping and imaging, we will achieve resolution previously unattainable. In the force spectroscopy mode, forces versus distance curves are recorded and provide access to the sample elastic and adhesive properties. It will resolve the large variations on topography and desire to evaluate regions over the millimeter range, in tissues and multi-cellular models, which represents severe practical challenges for prior and existing AFM designs. With the new tip scanning technology in the Nanowizard V, it is expected to significantly advance our understanding of dynamic physiological processes. The NanoWizard V will facilitate and expand on our present and future research goals in cancer research, neuronal dysfunction, vision loss, pulmonary disorders, antibody-antigen interactions, the fabrication of nanoparticles for tissue-specific targeting, cardiovascular diseases and other research projects described within this application.