Spinning Disk Confocal Microscope for the University of California, Berkeley

描述(申请人提供)：来自加州大学伯克利分校的六名NIH资助的细胞和发育生物学家与加州大学伯克利分校分子成像中心(MIC)一起申请资金，购买旋转圆盘共聚焦显微镜系统，用于对动态细胞和发育过程进行实时和延时成像。旋转圆盘共聚焦显微镜已经成为一种独特而强大的工具，用于显示动态的细胞和发育过程，包括细胞骨架动力学、膜运输、核运输、病原体感染和组织形态发生。这些仪器采用并行多光束扫描方法，与标准激光扫描共焦显微镜相比，图像采集速度显著加快，从而能够在非常快的时间尺度上对细胞过程进行成像。此外，当与非常灵敏的电子倍增CCD摄像机相结合时，这种系统还具有在低照度下获取图像的额外优势，从而将对样本的光损害降至最低，并允许对活细胞和组织进行扩展成像。尽管对于这一应用程序的六个主要用户来说，获得旋转磁盘显微镜对于实现他们由NIH资助的研究目标至关重要，但目前还没有这样的系统可供他们在加州大学伯克利分校使用。此外，加州大学伯克利分校对快速、灵敏的共焦成像系统的总体需求可能会非常高，因为目前可用的传统激光扫描显微镜的使用非常频繁，这减缓了NIH资助的研究的进展。为了确保仪器的成功操作和支持，并在仪器未被主要用户占用时扩大潜在用户基础，显微镜将被并入分子成像中心(MIC)，这是一个现有的显微镜设施，由分子和细胞生物系、癌症研究实验室和海伦·威尔斯神经科学研究所联合支持。MIC将监督仪器的培训、操作和维护。这一计划将使该仪器能够支持NIH资助的主要用户的研究，同时最大限度地发挥在加州大学伯克利分校培训和支持新用户的潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A group of six NIH-funded cell and developmental biologists from the University of California Berkeley, together with the UC Berkeley Molecular Imaging Center (MIC), request funds to purchase a spinning disk confocal microscope system for real-time and time-lapse imaging of dynamic cellular and developmental processes. Spinning disk confocal microscopes have emerged as unique and powerful tools for imaging dynamic cellular and developmental processes including cytoskeleton dynamics, membrane trafficking, nuclear transport, pathogen infection, and tissue morphogenesis. These instruments employ a parallel, multi-beam scanning approach that allows significantly faster image acquisition compared to standard laser scanning confocal microscopes, enabling the imaging of cellular processes that occur on a very rapid time scale. Moreover, when combined with very sensitive, electron multiplying CCD cameras, such systems have the additional advantage of acquiring images at low illumination levels, which minimizes photodamage to samples and permits extended imaging of living cells and tissues. Although access to a spinning disk microscope has become vital for the six major users on this application to accomplish the objectives of their NIH funded research, no such system is currently available for their use on the UC Berkeley campus. In addition, general demand at UC Berkeley for a fast and sensitive confocal imaging system is likely to be very high because currently available conventional laser scanning microscopes are very heavily used, which is slowing the progress of NIH- funded research. To ensure the successful operation and support of the instrument and to broaden the potential user base when the instrument is not occupied by the major users, the microscope will be incorporated into the Molecular Imaging Center (MIC), an existing microscopy facility that is jointly supported by the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, the Cancer Research Laboratory, and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. The MIC will oversee training, operation and maintenance for the instrument. This plan is will enable the instrument to support the NIH-funded research of the major users while at the same time maximizing the potential to train and support new users on the UC Berkeley campus.