UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 14, Page 1
December 12, 1991
Gore's gift to textile lab will aid fiber identification

     Alumni representatives from manufacturing, banking and health
care have served on a Corporate Sponsorship Committee within the
College of Human Resources, working to acquire gifts from industry.
     First among them is the gift of an American Optical rotary
microtome from W. L. Gore & Associate to the Department of
Textiles, Design and Consumer Economics.
     The microtome is used in the Medical Products Division in
Flagstaff, Ariz., to cut thin sections of graft and tissue explants
from a variety of surgical procedures. Sections of graft and tissue
are embedded in a block of paraffin for support of the tissue while
cutting. They are sliced with the microtome as thin as 4 to 7
microns, placed on glass microscope slides and stained with dyes to
examine the body's response to the implant. At this time, the
specimen is ready to be analyzed with a microscope to complete a
histological work-up. In typical use at a hospital, a microtome
aids in the diagnosis of malignancies.
     Virginia Ahrens, associate professor of textile, design and
consumer economics, has other uses in mind for this instrument in
her laboratory on campus. Cross-sections of fibers prepared with
the use of the microtome can be compared to photographic standards
to assist in fiber identification. This is a crucial first step in
the identification of dyes for the purpose of dating textile
artifacts. In addition, cross-sectional analysis can provide a
rapid evaluation of dyeing techniques as dye penetration in the
fiber is observed under the microscope.
     The Department of Textiles, Design and Consumer Economics and
the Department of Food Science have jointly received a grant from
the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop curriculum in
applied polymer science at the University. The NSF grant requires
the University to match equipment support. The University may match
the NSF equipment grant through it own funds or donations. Gore's
gift is important on its own and to stimulate additional gifts for
polymer science and related areas.