FEI Quanta 200 FEG

描述（由申请人提供）：我们申请资金购买一台共享的FEI Quanta 200 FEG扫描电子显微镜（SEM）。该仪器将用于支持美国国立卫生研究院资助的研究人员的5个重大项目，并为许多其他美国国立卫生研究院资助的项目提供支持。目前，范德比尔特大学唯一可用的扫描电镜是由工程学院维护的，主要用于材料科学应用。该仪器的使用对于向范德比尔特生物医学研究人员介绍扫描电镜的使用至关重要。然而，现在最成熟的项目需要一种为其特定的生物学需要而设计和专用的仪器。对所要求的仪器有立即、必要和适当需求的五个主要用户将利用仪器总活动的80%。这些项目包括分析由蛋白质突变引起的细胞形态变化，以探测这些蛋白质的功能，研究微生物入侵哺乳动物组织的机制，帮助开发可视化细胞三维超微结构的新方法，以及研究脂质的摄取和分泌。另外3个项目迫切需要访问SEM（见其他用户列表）。这将占用初始仪器使用量的10%。此外，我们从历史先例中知道，将FEI Quanta FEG SEM专用于生物医学研究，并广泛使用细胞成像共享资源（CISR），也将刺激更多nih赞助的范德比尔特研究人员使用这项技术。我们其他仪器的使用时间是由nih资助的项目使用的。我们期望新的扫描电镜将匹配这一配置文件。CISR是提供精密显微镜的核心实验室。此应用程序的所有主要用户都可以通过已建立的CISR基础设施访问该仪器并接受培训。在过去的八年里，现有显微镜的服务合同都是由使用费支撑的，我们预计Quanta 200 FEG SEM继续这样的安排不会有任何困难。此外，CISR工作人员将从现有的CISR用户中确定哪些研究人员的项目将从SEM中受益。该资源在范德比尔特大学的250多个实验室小组中拥有广泛的教育，培训和生产力记录。在过去的16年里，我们引进了共聚焦显微镜、活细胞成像、双光子激发、全内反射（TIRF）显微镜、荧光相关光谱、反褶积显微镜以及透射和扫描电子显微镜。范德比尔特大学医学中心细胞成像共享资源（CISR）内专门为生物医学研究配置的扫描电镜将为范德比尔特大学的生物研究提供显着优势，并将极大地促进美国国立卫生研究院资助的生物医学研究人员使用扫描电镜。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request funds to purchase a shared FEI Quanta 200 FEG Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The instrument will be used to support 5 major projects from NIH-funded investigators as well as provide support to a number of other NIH-funded programs. At present, the only SEM available at Vanderbilt is one maintained by the College of Engineering and used primarily for materials science applications. Use of this instrument has been critical for introducing the use of SEM to Vanderbilt biomedical researchers. However, the most mature projects now require an instrument that is designed and dedicated for their specific biological needs. Five Major Users with immediate, essential and appropriate need for the requested instrument will utilize 80% of total instrument activity. The projects range from analyzing changes in cell morphology resulting from mutated proteins in order to probe the function of those proteins, investigating the mechanism of microbial invasion of mammalian tissue, aiding the development of new methods of visualizing the 3D ultrastructure of cells, and investigating uptake and secretion of lipids. Another 3 projects have an immediate need for some access to SEM (see Other User List). This will utilize an additional 10% of the initial instrument usage. In addition, we know from historical precedent that placing a FEI Quanta FEG SEM dedicated to biomedical research in the established and widely used Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR) will also spur the use of this technology by many more NIH-sponsored Vanderbilt researchers. Instrument time for our other instrumentation is used >90% by NIH-funded projects. We expect that the new SEM will match this profile. The CISR is a core laboratory that supplies access to sophisticated microscopy. All Major Users on this application will have access to the instrument and training through the established CISR infrastructure. Usage charges have supported the service contract for the existing microscopes over the last eight years, and we foresee no difficulty in continuing that arrangement for the Quanta 200 FEG SEM. In addition, the CISR staff will identify from existing CISR users those researchers whose projects would benefit from SEM. The Resource has an extensive track record of education, training, and productivity with over 250 lab groups at Vanderbilt University. Over the last 16 years, we have introduced shared access to confocal microscopy, live cell imaging, two-photon excitation, total internal reflection (TIRF) microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, deconvolution microscopy and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Having access to an SEM that is specifically configured for biomedical research and housed within the Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR) will offer significant advantages for biological research at Vanderbilt and will greatly facilitate the use of SEM by NIH-funded biomedical researchers.