Leica STELLARIS Confocal to Power Women's Health Research

项目摘要 这项共享仪器拨款用于购买Leica Stellaris共聚焦显微镜， 在玛吉妇女研究所MWRI共焦核心服务于70个基础和临床研究 教师谁是MWRI的正式或附属成员。目前，MWRI的核心是由一个10岁的 尼康A1 r与PMT探测器和共振扫描和近20年的徕卡SP2共焦。前 根据服务合同持续维护，并于2015年升级为稳态激光器。 另一方面，SP2正处于其可行生命周期的终点：它无法升级;它不再具有 DAPI激光器无法正常工作;供应商服务合同已终止;维修零件难以获得。 该申请要求资金，以取代过时的SP2系统与徕卡的最新的共焦，Stellaris， 今年春天发行的。在过去的十年里，共聚焦显微镜的创新已经改善 灵敏度和分辨率，减少漂白，扩大荧光范围。新仪器将 允许NIH资助的研究人员使用最先进的成像方法来解决无数相关问题 对妇女和生殖健康的影响，包括卵巢癌病因学、减数分裂交叉调节、盆腔 以及胎盘功能障碍等。关键是，新系统将允许用户实现 亚衍射成像正在成为该领域的标准，并将增强实时成像能力， MWRI核心最近聘请教师与共焦密集型项目，以及扩大的需求， 我们的用户群，已经很难支持MWRI选区的共聚焦需求与我们目前的， 过时的机器

PROJECT SUMMARY This shared instrumentation grant is for funds to purchase a Leica Stellaris confocal microscope to be housed in the Magee-Womens Research Institute. The MWRI confocal core serves the 70 basic- and clinical-research faculty who are full or affiliate members of MWRI. Currently, the MWRI core is comprised of a 10-year-old Nikon A1r with PMT detectors and resonant scanning and a nearly 20-year-old Leica SP2 confocal. The former has been maintained continuously under a service contract and was upgraded to steady-state lasers in 2015. The SP2, on the other hand, is at the end of its viable lifetime: it cannot be upgraded; it no longer has a functioning DAPI laser; vendor service contracts have been discontinued; and repair parts are difficult to attain. This application requests funds to replace the obsolete SP2 system with Leica's newest confocal, Stellaris, which was released this spring. Over the past ten years, innovations in confocal microscopy have improved sensitivity and resolution, decreased bleaching, and expanded fluorescent range. The new instrumentation will allow NIH-funded researchers to use state-of-the art imaging approaches to address a myriad of issues related to women's and reproductive health, including ovarian cancer etiology, meiotic crossover regulation, pelvic floor disorders, and placenta dysfunction, among others. Critically, the new system will allow users to achieve sub-diffraction imaging that is becoming a standard in the field and will enhance the live-imaging capabilities of the MWRI core. The recent hiring of faculty with confocal-intensive projects, together with expanded need of our user base, have made it difficult to support the confocal needs of the MWRI constituency with our current, outdated machine.