KARACHI: Dow University of Health Sciences is on a mission to revolutionize academia and research through a distinctive approach toward research, education, and innovation. Therefore, in that context, for the first time in any public institute, Dow Dental College research laboratory (DDCRL) was established in the state-of-the-art building of Dow Dental College under the umbrella of Dow University of Health Sciences.
The lab is run by the research associates under the management of Dr Faiza Amin ( Biomaterials) working as an Associate Professor/Incharge Science of Dental Materials department and Vice Principal Dow Dental College and Dr Shazia Akbar (Molecular) working as a Professor and Head of the Oral Pathology Department Dow Dental College DUHS.
An advanced scanning electron microscope (SEM) along with energy dispersive X ray analysis (EDX) was recently installed in DDCRL making it the first one of its kind at a public sector medical university in Karachi. Scanning electron microscopy is a technique used to examine materials at high magnification.
The high-resolution, three-dimensional images produced by SEMs provide topographical, morphological, and compositional information, making them invaluable in various science and industrial applications. In addition, EDX is used to identify the elemental composition of materials along with elemental mapping of a sample and image analysis. This will also play a very important role in the materials characterization.
Medical and dental research have blossomed with this tremendous advance, and it has opened doors for many researchers all over the country. In the future, SEM will help discover novel dental and medical treatments and ensure we use existing treatments as effectively as possible. SEM will allow researchers to find answers to unknown things, filling knowledge gaps and changing how healthcare professionals work.