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09 October 2018 | Story UFS | Photo Eugene Seegers
Prof Johan Venter monitors an experiment during a Chemistry magic
Prof Johan Venter monitors an experiment during a ‘Chemistry magic’ demonstration at the launch of the new laboratory on the South Campus.
“This facility is proof of the belief, dedication, and willingness to create teaching and learning facilities, as well as the environment to secure successful studies for deserving students after their South Campus year, by laying a firm foundation.” These were the words of Francois Marais, Manager: Extended Curriculum Programmes, at the opening of a new Chemistry laboratory on the UFS South Campus. He added: “The culmination of this project is the result of sacrifice, hard work, and outstanding academic leadership.”

The lab came into being as a result of a pressing need for laboratory space to accommodate Chemistry students on the Bloemfontein and South campuses. Elzmarie Oosthuizen, Manager: Teaching and Learning in the faculty, discerned this need, formulated a plan, and submitted it to the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Danie Vermeulen. Since limited funds were available and a new building was not financially feasible, Mrs Oosthuizen suggested converting existing space on the South Campus into an appropriately equipped laboratory to relieve the additional strain on existing laboratories on the Bloemfontein Campus.

At the launch of the lab, Prof Vermeulen thanked the management and team effort of the Department of Chemistry for their enthusiasm, optimism, and positive attitude, which made it possible to establish the laboratory in a very short time.

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), said: “This lab is a masterpiece of the South Campus. The University of the Free State is on a mission to improve and enhance our level of excellence in the field of academia. That is what academia is all about   to continually strive to be the best. That is why our vision is to be a research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged institution.” He further said the value system through which this would be achieved, was development within the context of a social-justice framework.

Prof Walter Purcell, Head of the Department of Chemistry, mentioned that this new lab would bring about a 23% reduction in the number of first-year students who have to perform Chemistry practicals each week, resulting in fewer sessions being presented per week. “This has eliminated the need for evening sessions and the associated travel and safety issues for students who have to commute.”

By the launch date on 28 September 2018, 1 326 practical sessions had already been presented in the new laboratory.

News Archive

Nanotechnology breakthrough at UFS
2010-08-19

 Ph.D students, Chantel Swart and Ntsoaki Leeuw


Scientists at the University of the Free State (UFS) made an important breakthrough in the use of nanotechnology in medical and biological research. The UFS team’s research has been accepted for publication by the internationally accredited Canadian Journal of Microbiology.

The UFS study dissected yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil by peeling microscopically thin layers off the yeast cells through the use of nanotechnology.

The yeast cells were enlarged thousands of times to study what was going on inside the cells, whilst at the same time establishing the chemical elements the cells are composed of. This was done by making microscopically small surgical incisions into the cell walls.

This groundbreaking research opens up a host of new uses for nanotechnology, as it was the first study ever in which biological cells were surgically manipulated and at the same time elemental analysis performed through nanotechnology. According to Prof. Lodewyk Kock, head of the Division Lipid Biotechnology at the UFS, the study has far reaching implications for biological and medical research.

The research was the result of collaboration between the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, the Department of Physics (under the leadership of Prof. Hendrik Swart) and the Centre for Microscopy (under the leadership of Prof.Pieter van Wyk).

Two Ph.D. students, Chantel Swart and Ntsoaki Leeuw, overseen by professors Kock and Van Wyk, managed to successfully prepare yeast that was exposed to over-used cooking oil (used for deep frying of food) for this first ever method of nanotechnological research.

According to Prof. Kock, a single yeast cell is approximately 5 micrometres long. “A micrometre is one millionth of a metre – in laymen’s terms, even less than the diameter of a single hair – and completely invisible to the human eye.”

Through the use of nanotechnology, the chemical composition of the surface of the yeast cells could be established by making a surgical incision into the surface. The cells could be peeled off in layers of approximately three (3) nanometres at a time to establish the effect of the oil on the yeast cell’s composition. A nanometre is one thousandth of a micrometre.

Each cell was enlarged by between 40 000 and 50 000 times. This was done by using the Department of Physics’ PHI700 Scanning Auger Nanoprobe linked to a Scanning Electron Microscope and Argon-etching. Under the guidance of Prof. Swart, Mss. Swart en Leeuw could dissect the surfaces of yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil. 

The study noted wart like outgrowths - some only a few nanometres in diameter – on the cell surfaces. Research concluded that these outgrowths were caused by the oil. The exposure to the oil also drastically hampered the growth of the yeast cells. (See figure 1)  

Researchers worldwide have warned about the over-usage of cooking oil for deep frying of food, as it can be linked to the cause of diseases like cancer. The over-usage of cooking oil in the preparation of food is therefore strictly regulated by laws worldwide.

The UFS-research doesn’t only show that over-used cooking oil is harmful to micro-organisms like yeast, but also suggests how nanotechnology can be used in biological and medical research on, amongst others, cancer cells.

 

Figure 1. Yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil. Wart like protuberances/ outgrowths (WP) is clearly visible on the surfaces of the elongated yeast cells. With the use of nanotechnology, it is possible to peel off the warts – some with a diameter of only a few nanometres – in layers only a few nanometres thick. At the same time, the 3D-structure of the warts as well as its chemical composition can be established.  

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za  
18 August 2010
 

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