ACQUISITION OF THE YOKOGAWA CV8000 HIGH THROUGHPUT SPINNING DISK MICROSCOPE AND ROBOTICS

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Project Summary/Abstract In this application, the Integrated Microscopy Core (IMC) at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM, Houston, TX) requests a Yokogawa Cell Voyager 8000 (CV8000) high throughput spinning disk confocal platform. The CV8000 also is integrated with a hardware/software solution for a robotic plate-loader and incubated plate hotel to allow 24/7 live imaging experiments. This type of platform is currently not available in the Houston area, or anywhere in Texas. The IMC is a long-standing core facility supported in part by the NCI-funded Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, the NIDDK-funded Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center and the CPRIT-funded Gulf Coast Consortium Center for Advanced Microscopy and Image Informatics (CAMII). In the last few years, there has been an increased need in the scientific community to query biological processes at different scales of observation, both spatially (from single cells to organoids to model organisms), and temporally (from seconds to days), and to translate findings into novel mechanisms of action and therapeutic avenues. Because of increased capabilities in assay development and miniaturization (96-384 well plates), it is now possible to simultaneously query model systems under a large number of conditions (i.e., small molecule screening), and, through advanced image analytics, to quantify single object phenotypic/mechanistic changes in multidimensional space (space, time, shape, texture, intensity) to create highly complex, multiparametric views of pathophysiological phenomena. The CV8000 provides us with the unique possibility of accomplishing the abovementioned tasks; it is a state- of-the-art, industry standard, unmatched on the market, high throughput spinning disk confocal, with 6 laser lines, 4 cameras, designed for low (4x) and high resolution (60x/water) imaging of live and fixed 2D/3D samples. The included Cell Pathfinder high content image analysis software will complement currently available bioinformatics resources available in the IMC/CAMII. The addition of the incubated robotic platform and plate-loader by PAA will allow us to perform short- and long-term live imaging experiments without continuous involvement of core personnel, or potential limitations from fixed-cell projects. The versatility and ultra-high image quality of the CV8000 will provide many groups at BCM and the TMC with results and experimental designs that are currently not possible or practical with available resources. As detailed in the proposal, the CV8000 will serve groups that need multidimensional live/fixed imaging of organoids, model organisms and other 2D/3D cell models. In partnership with CAMII and GCC Screening Program and the Baylor Center for Drug Discovery, numerous small molecule libraries are available to support a wide range of screening projects. The CV8000 will be a perfect addition to the battery of IMC resources and will be integrated in our educational mission (seminars and graduate level microscopy class).