Asylum Research MFP-3D-BIO Atomic Force Microscope

项目摘要 在这份申请中，我们申请资金购买庇护研究MFP-3D- 与蔡司观察仪集成的生物原子力显微镜Z1倒置荧光 显微镜。本应用程序中要求的最先进的AFM是可用的最佳AFM 以满足我们目前和可预见的全国儿童医院(NCH)的需求，它将 在我们的形态核心实验室中安装和操作。重要的是，虽然我们不是 将这种原子力显微镜与共焦显微镜相结合，我们预计未来的研究可能 因此，拟议的AFM将位于 目前的蔡司LSM 700共焦在我们的形态核心，这将允许我们暂时 改装专用AFM蔡司倒置显微镜以适应共焦扫描 头部，允许我们以中立的方式拥有共焦能力。就像现在一样 目前不是NCH园区的AFM，该仪器将为 我们由国家卫生研究院资助的研究项目。这些项目迫切需要了解生物学 在更基本的层面上，并应用这种对生物力学的理解 这些系统对心血管疾病、微生物等各种问题的特性 发病机制、生物医学工程、围产期疾病和癌症。所请求的MFP- 3D-Bio AFM用途广泛，有几个关键功能使其有别于其他仪器 在市场上，它可以实现更好的性能：(1)它具有最高的耐热性- 市场上任何AFM的分辨率都很有限，这使得它非常适合测量生物力学 在我们的申请中描述的细胞、生物膜和结合的力，(2)当被安置在 声学外壳，数据中的噪音极低，(3)和人性化控制， 分析和图像处理软件与IGOR Pro 6集成，可实现近乎无限的 仪器控制和分析，以及(4)可校准悬臂弹簧常数 而无需与样本进行物理接触，这在使用时是一个真正的好处 柔软和/或敏感的材料。这些功能，加上很少甚至不需要维护，导致 高分辨率数据采集，无需花费大量的长期费用。此请求的MFP- 3D-BIO将是支持我们NIH资助的主要和次要用户需求的关键 对生物样本(细胞、生物膜、 DNA)，通常在样本有限且敏感性是关键要求的情况下。

Project Summary In this application, we are requesting funds for the purchase of an Asylum Research MFP-3D- BIO atomic force microscope (AFM) integrated with a Zeiss Observer.Z1 inverted fluorescent microscope. This state-of-the-art AFM requested in this application is the best available AFM to suit our current and foreseeable needs at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH), and it will be housed and operated from our Morphology Core Laboratory. Importantly, while we are not integrating this AFM with a confocal microscope, we foresee that future studies may necessitate this specialized functionality; as such, the proposed AFM will be situated next to the current Zeiss LSM 700 confocal in our Morphology Core, which will allow us to temporarily convert the dedicated AFM Zeiss inverted microscope to accommodate the confocal scan head, allowing us to have confocal capabilities in a budge-neutral manner. As there is currently not an AFM on the NCH campus, this instrument will add significant functionality to our NIH-funded research projects. These projects have a critical need to understand biological systems at a more fundamental level, and to apply this understanding of the biomechanical properties of these systems to problems as diverse as cardiovascular disease, microbial pathogenesis, biomedical engineering, perinatal diseases, and cancer. The requested MFP- 3D-BIO AFM is versatile and has several key features that set it apart from other instruments on the market that allow it to achieve better performance: (1) it has the highest thermally- limited resolution of any AFM on the market, making it very suitable to measure biomechanical forces of cells, biofilms, and binding as described in our application, (2) when housed in an acoustic enclosure, the noise in the data is extremely low, (3) and the user-friendly control, analysis, and image processing software integrates with Igor Pro 6, allowing for near limitless instrument control and analysis, and (4) the cantilever spring constant can be calibrated without making physical contact with the samples, which is a real benefit when working with soft and/or sensitive materials. These features, along with little to no maintenance, result in high-resolution data acquisition without significant long-term expense. This requested MFP- 3D-BIO will be critical to support the needs of our NIH-funded Major and Minor Users performing sensitive biomechanical measurements on biological samples (cells, biofilms, DNA), often where samples are limited and sensitivity is a key requirement.