01 Dec 2005
The University of Manchester has been awarded £1.7m to build a new instrument that combines time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) with infrared spectroscopy, which will open new possibilities in the study of biological, organic and inorganic materials. The capabilities of the instrument, which will be built within two years, will be tested on materials such as prostate cancer tissue and environmental particulate pollutants. Professor John Vickerman, Director of the Surface Analysis Research Centre, said: “By combining this capability with infrared spectroscopy we will be able to get a much fuller picture of the chemistry of the molecules and materials we are studying”.