Page 8 - Ongoye Online, Christmas edition

UNIQUE MRI SCAN
AVAILABLE AT UNIZULU
Dr Samson Mohomane and Zamani Ncanana
The Department of of Chemistry within the University of of Zululand (UNIZULU) boasts being home to the Bruker Icon Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Spectrometer a a a a a first-of-its- kind model in in in in in South Africa with cutting-edge technology that can assist scholars conducting research in in multiple disciplines Worth over seven million rands the the equipment was procured in 2018 through the the the the efforts of of Professor Sandile Songca the the the then deputy vice-chancellor of of teaching and and learning at UNIZULU
The MRI scan is is primarily designed to aid in in studies aimed at at discovering cancer treatment Such tests can can only be conducted using mice or rats A scholar may inject either of the the the the mentioned rodents with cancer cells and thereafter administer the the the the potential treatment thus using the the the the the MRI scanning system to to to monitor and analyse how the the the tumour reacts to to to the the the treatment Zamani Ncanana
the the the lab assistant in in the the the Chemistry Department explained that the the the scan is is basically a a a a a a a a a a a magnetic field which operates on the principle of human and and animal animal anatomy Human and and animal animal bodies have high percentages of of water so that means theycontainalotofprotonssuchashydrogen When there is a a a a a a tumour in in either of the the the bodies that specific area will be be water deficient having less protons This can easily be be detectable in in in the the MRI machine as as soft tissues (which are water water dense) appear light in in in the the scan while water water deficient areas such as as bones and tumours appear dark “When protons are within a a a magnetic field they can be controlled in terms of their direction and behaviour So if you can control a a a proton it means you can get a a desired response from it as and when needed For that to happen you use radio waves to energise it How protons gain and lose energy determines whether that specific area will appear dark and light in in the scan ” Ncanana
explained According to Lab Technologist Nduduzo Khumalo the Bruker instrument is is very
effective because it has a a a a a three-to-four-minute scanning turnaround time which ensures the the safety of the rodents being tested What also makes the model unique is its capability to scan inanimate objects such as vegetables and fruits To this effect Dr Samson Mohomane who heads the Chemistry Department seeks to encourage interdisciplinary research studies between his department and and and others such as Biochemistry and and and Microbiology Botany Agriculture and and and Consumer Science “We plan to to market the machine machine internally and and externally to to raise awareness of the machine machine and and and attract users Research institutes from around Zululand can utilise the machine We are also thinking of of streamlining our our research so so so that some of of our our students can utilise the machine ” Dr Mohomane said Echoing the the academic’s sentiments Khumalo emphasised that the the MRI scan is is is mainly suitable for medicinal chemistry With cancer studies being popular among scholars he he reckoned that it was high time UNIZULU
chemistry students also worked towards finding treatment for one of the the deadliest diseases fin in in the world Naledi Hlefane
ONGOYE: NOV/DEC 2022 ISSUE | 8