MRI-R2 Consortium: Development of an 8kx8k pixel direct detection CMOS camera with single electron counting for cryoEM

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这项主要研究仪器-回收和再投资（MRI-R2）奖资助了加州大学旧金山分校（UCSF）开发一种8kx8k像素直接检测CMOS相机，该相机具有单电子量化检测，用于高分辨率单粒子低温电子显微镜（cryoEM）。新的相机系统将实现高帧读出率，具有极高的灵敏度和高分辨率。由于它使用的材料很少，不需要晶体，单粒子低温电子显微镜已经成为研究复杂生物组装的三维（3D）结构不可或缺的工具，提供了x射线晶体学或核磁共振波谱等更传统方法无法获得的关键信息。摄像头开发项目将通过加州大学旧金山分校、劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室（LBNL）和Gatan公司（一家专门从事EM摄像头和外围设备的公司）之间的合作进行协调。该相机将有利于大量的研究项目，并改善15-25名学生和博士后在先进的低温电子显微镜技术的培养前景。加州大学旧金山分校的研究人员也积极参与暑期研究项目，并在他们的实验室里接待本科生，为他们提供先进技术的研究机会。照相机的性能和供应情况将通过网站、出版物和在当地和国际会议上的介绍广泛传播。这项新技术的商业化可能会导致类似设备的更广泛传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Major Research Instrumentation-Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R2) award funds the development of an 8kx8k pixel direct detection CMOS camera with single electron quantized detection for high-resolution single particle cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). The new camera system will enable high frame readout rates, with extreme sensitivity and high resolution. Because it uses so little material and does not require crystals, single particle cryoEM has become an indispensable tool for studying the three-dimensional (3D) structures of complex biological assemblies, providing critical information not obtainable by more traditional methods such as x-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy. The camera development project will be coordinated through collaborations among UCSF, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and Gatan, Inc., a company specializing in EM cameras and peripherals. The camera will benefit a large number of research projects and improve the training prospects for 15-25 students and postdoctoral fellows in advanced cryoEM technology. UCSF PIs are also active participants in summer research programs and have been hosting undergraduates in their labs to provide research opportunities with advanced technologies. Performance and availability of the camera will be widely disseminated through a web site, in publications, and through presentations at local and international meetings. Commercialization of the new technology may lead to even wider dissemination of similar devices.