Modernizing the Flow and Imaging Cytometry Capabilities at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

毕格罗海洋科学实验室获得一笔赠款，用于更新J.J. MacIsaac水生细胞计数设施（FAC），并购买多用户、海岸和海上流式细胞分析仪和成像细胞仪，以支持水生微生物学领域的研究、培训和教育。 30多年来，毕格罗实验室的FAC一直是一个多用户研究设施，以推进海洋和淡水生态系统中水生微生物和藻类的研究。 水生生态系统的初级结构是微观的。 利用流式细胞术（测量悬浮在流体流动中的细胞）已经发现了许多新的水生微生物类型和功能。 这些微生物中的大多数仍然无法培养，因此在很大程度上是未知的。 FAC促进水生微生物学研究，以广泛的研究社区允许在这些环境中确定这一巨大的，未开发的生物多样性水库。它还为包括本科生、研究生和研究科学家在内的广大学生提供流式细胞术和水生微生物学方面的培训和教育。 FAC的现代化将支持各种水生研究（淡水和海洋）以及新的水生流式细胞仪应用的开发。 该仪器将成为FAC的一部分，FAC是一个多用户中心，用于培训和应用先进的细胞计数技术进行水生微生物研究。FAC目前的仪器使用得很好，已经过时。 光学技术（光纤、成像和荧光染料检测）的进步使得流式细胞仪仪器能够包含固态激光器，并具有跨越紫外和可见光谱的多种波长，其中一些更适合水生生物应用。 该项目获得的新仪器将促进毕格罗实验室和更广泛的水产科学界正在进行的主要研究，开发使用流动和成像能力的新方法和应用，并在流式细胞术方法和应用方面教育学生和科学家。 新的流式细胞仪具有许多功能，将提高研究能力，一个3激光系统，用于多波长激发，多达17个检测器，用于散射和荧光颗粒检测，能够进行体积计数，并包括一个通用的样品加载器，以快速处理样品。 新的成像细胞仪将提供更高功率的激光器和更灵敏的检测器，以及卡扣式流动池保持器和集成的自动对焦机制，提供一致的更高分辨率的图像。 有关毕格罗实验室和FAC的更多信息，请访问网站：http://www.bigelow.org/This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is awarded a grant to modernize the J.J. MacIsaac Facility for Aquatic Cytometry (FAC) and acquire a multi-user, shore and seagoing flow cytometric analyzer and imaging cytometer to support, research, training and education in the field of aquatic microbiology. The FAC at Bigelow Laboratory has been a multi-user research facility for over 30 years to advance the study of aquatic microbes and algae in marine and freshwater ecosystems. The primary structure of aquatic ecosystems is microscopic. Many new types and function of aquatic microorganisms have been discovered using flow cytometry (measurement of cells suspended in fluid flow). The majority of these microbes remain uncultivable and are therefore largely unknown. The FAC facilitates aquatic microbiology research to a broad research community allowing for this vast, untapped reservoir of biodiversity in these environments to be identified. It also provides training and education on both flow cytometry and aquatic microbiology to a broad range of students, including, undergraduates, graduate students and research scientists. The modernization of the FAC will support a variety of aquatic research (freshwater and marine) as well as the development of new aquatic flow cytometric applications. The instrumentation will be a part of the FAC, a multi-user center for training and applications of advance cytometric technology for the study of aquatic microbes.The current instrumentation at the FAC is well used and outdated. Advances in optical technology (fiber optics, imaging, and fluorochrome detection) allow for flow cytometric instrumentation that contains solid-state lasers and are available in numerous wavelengths spanning the UV and visible light spectrum, some of which are better suited for aquatic biological applications. The new instruments acquired by this project will facilitate the ongoing primary research at Bigelow Laboratory and within the broader aquatic science community, develop new approaches and applications using both flow and imaging capabilities, and educate students and scientists in flow cytometric methods and applications. The new flow cytometric cell analyzer has a number of features that will enhance research capabilities, a 3-laser system for multiple wavelength excitation with up to 17 detectors for scatter and fluorescence particle detection, the ability to do volumetric counting, and includes a universal sample loader in order to rapidly process samples. The new imaging cytometer will provide a higher-powered laser and more sensitive detectors as well as a snap-in-flow cell holder and an integrated auto-focus mechanism, providing consistent higher resolution images. For more information about Bigelow Laboratory and the FAC, please see the website: http://www.bigelow.org/This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.