Proposal

In order to enhance the quality of our chemistry curriculum and student success in all our chemistry courses we are requesting funding for X-ray hardware and software web-based technologies.  As FAU forges ahead in becoming a leader in biotech research in southern Florida, our students need to be exposed to instrumental technologies that they will use in their professional careers. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is arduously working toward this goal in order to graduate top-notch scientists. One cutting-edge technological advance extremely useful to a variety of fields is X-ray diffraction (XRD). X-rays also induce atomic fluorescence (XRF), which can be used to determine the identity of the atoms within any given material. Thus XRD in combination with XRF allows for the determination of the precise structure of crystalline compounds, and is important for research and analysis in chemistry, physics, biology, geology, pharmaceuticals, and biomedicine. We intend to also purchase a complementary online database for student use. Used in combination with XRD/XRF students will attain higher level analytical and technical skills. Many universities in the U.S. do not emphasize either technique or data analysis in their programs, though these technologies are common-place in industry and throughout academia. Hence our faculty are eager to enhance the suite of existing technologies in our Department with combined XRD/XRF capabilities and online database. This will give future FAU graduates a major advantage in the academic and industrial job market.  Student cohorts to be positively impacted by these technology include those in Inorganic Chemistry Lab, Bioanalytical Instrumentation Lab, Physical Chemistry 2 Lab and Organic Chemistry Lab courses as well as those carrying out undergraduate research in chemistry, biochemistry, geology, medicine, physics and biology. We estimate the overall number of students per year that will greatly benefit from using this new, cutting-edge technological hardware and/or software is at least ~ 750+. 

Olympus NDT Inc., located in Waltham, MA has a unique bench-top combined XRD/XRF unit available for $52,592. This combined unit offers many advantages to stand-alone devices at a third of the cost. A typical bench-top XRD starts at ~$65,000 and can go upwards of $100,000, and XRF units usually sell for $70-90,000. Additionally, many others are extremely sensitive, need careful training and use, and often need water or liquid nitrogen chilled detectors. The proposed unit is extremely facile to use and requires no chilled detectors. In addition, the unique orientation of the sample within the sample chamber allows for very accurate data acquisition. The Olympus XRD/XRF is thus ideal for use by undergraduate students while allowing them to develop the skills necessary to interpret the obtained data. The unit is controlled via a wireless connection to a laptop computer, and includes Quantitative Analysis Software.

Additionally, through Tech Fee funding we seek to purchase access to the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) through the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC). This is the world’s most comprehensive database of organic and inorganic compounds, and contains over 500,000 entries to date. Knowledge and use of this database is crucial to researchers in a variety of disciplines. A web-based version of the database, WebCSD is now available and can be purchased at a cost of $9,450 for a three-year site license. This web version is particularly attractive in that students can access the database from any FAU workstation on the Boca Raton campus.

The combined purchase and installation of XRD/XRF and the WebCSD technologies will benefit undergraduate and graduate students throughout a majority of the chemistry curriculum and in other Departments. As mentioned earlier, students in Organic Chemistry Lab will use the WebCSD database in particular to analyze the structures of various organic compounds, and to analyze absolute configuration of molecules for drug discovery. Students in Bioanalytical Instrumentation and Inorganic Chemistry Labs will use the XRD/XRF for sample analysis and then they will evaluate their data using the Olympus Quantitative Analysis Software and the WebCSD database. In the Physical Chemistry 2 Lab course, students synthesize quantum dots, and the XRD can be used to estimate the size of these nanocrystalline materials. Undergraduate student researchers in in chemistry, biochemistry, geology, medicine, physics and biology will have access to these technologies and training by our expert faculty. This will immensely enhance their undergraduate research experience, keeping in line with the university’s Quality Enhancement Program (QEP). Finally, we envisage that these XRD/XRF and web-based technologies would be routinely used in proposed future advanced courses such as: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Chemistry.