Confocal microscope for multichannel and live imaging

细胞生物学已经通过荧光探针的发展而发生了革命性的变化，荧光探针可用于跟踪活细胞中蛋白质的定位。 具有不同光谱特性的荧光探针种类的增加使得它们可以用于涉及多个细胞组分的共定位研究。 传统荧光显微镜的一个主要局限是难以观察厚标本深处的结构。 共聚焦显微镜的出现导致了生物学成像的第二次革命。 共焦显微镜使用仅聚焦在感兴趣平面上的激光束扫描样品。 这允许过滤掉来自样本的焦点外区域的信号，并开辟了在其天然组织甚至整个生物体中观察蛋白质的令人兴奋的可能性。 在越来越多的情况下，需要同时采集3种或更多种不同蛋白质的数据，以确定蛋白质的位置及其与细胞中其他蛋白质或结构的关系。 最近，观察活细胞或整个生物体中的蛋白质的能力使研究人员能够真实的研究细胞过程，从而再次彻底改变了细胞生物学。 新一代的共焦显微镜提供了快速的扫描速度，使现场成像令人生畏。 我们的研究小组目前正在利用多种荧光探针来研究各种各样的生物过程。 然而，我们受到缺乏可操作的共聚焦显微镜的限制。 该部现有的共焦显微镜不是为实时成像而制造的。 它也限制了可以检测到的蛋白质的数量。 此外，它来自一家不再制造或服务共焦眼镜的公司。 维护成本高昂，并且无法更换或升级老化的组件。 在校园或城市里没有其他的共焦显微镜。 我们正在寻求一种新的共聚焦，它将能够在我们的研究需求所要求的水平上发挥作用。 这些设备将使我们能够继续培养高质量的科学家，并保持一个优秀的研究计划。

Cell Biology has been revolutionized by the development of fluorescent probes that can be used to track the localization of proteins in living cells.  The increasing variety of fluorescent probes with different spectral characteristics has allowed their use in colocalization studies involving mutiple cell components.  A major limitation with traditional fluorescent microscopy is in the difficulty of observing structures deep within thick specimens.  The advent of confocal microscopy has lead to a second revolution in imaging in biology.  The confocal microscope scans the sample using a beam of laser light that is focused only on the plane of interest.  This allows filtering out of signal coming from out-of-focus areas of the sample, and has opened up the exciting possibility of viewing proteins in the context of their native tissue or even in whole organisms.  In an increasing number of cases the simultaneous acquisition of data for 3 or more different proteins is required to determine where a protein resides and its relation to other proteins or structures in the cell.  Recently, the ability to observe proteins in living cells or whole organisms has once more revolutionized cell biology by allowing researchers to study cellular processes in real time.  The newer generation of confocal microscopes offer fast scanning speeds that make live imaging feasable.  Our investigator group is currently utilizing multiple fluorescent probes to study a wide variety of biological processes.  However, we are limited by lack of access to an operable confocal microscope.  The existing confocal microscoope in the Department is not made for live imaging.  It is also limited in the number of proteins that can be detected.  Furthermore, it is from a company that no longer makes or services confocals.  It is costly to maintain and it is not possible to replace or upgrade the aging components.  There is no other confocal microscope on campus or in the city.  We are asking for a new confocal that will be able to perform at the level demanded by our research needs.  This equipment will allow us to continue to train quality scientists and maintain an excellent research program.