Wide-field microscope to support research programs in image cytometry and image-based cell separation

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Cytometry, or the analysis of cells, is fundamentally important to many areas of biological research. Traditional flow cytometry has been the dominant cytometry technology since the 1960s because it is simple, high-throughput, and can be coupled with fluorescence activated cell sorting. However, there are many samples and analyses currently incompatible with flow cytometry. For example, (1) the cell sample may be unable to withstand the shear stress of flow cytometry; (2) cells may be organized into multicellular clusters, such as spheroids and organoids; (3) the features of interest may be presented as subcellular localization of certain markers. Many of these issues can be addressed using microscopy imaging. However, current methods for analyzing cells using standard microscopy systems are extremely slow and does not provide the ability to separate specific cells or clusters for further analysis, such as by propagation and genome sequencing.******This proposal requests funding for a wide-field microscope with a large-frame camera to fill a critical need for high-throughput imaging in several multi-disciplinary research programs. The key feature of this microscope is its enlarged field-of-view, which dramatically increases imaging throughput and reduces image acquisition times. The requested equipment will support five dynamic research programs spanning a wide range of disciplines, including the development of new algorithms for image cytometry and new technologies for image-based cell separation, real-time monitoring of organ-on-a-chip microfluidic systems, image based screening to elucidate blood coagulation pathways, high-throughput screening to discover new polymeric biomaterials, and multiplexed microscopy to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of cytokine secretion.******The requested wide-field microscopy system provides a versatile platform for HQP training at the graduate, undergraduate, and postdoctoral level. Trainees will be able to use this platform to rapidly acquire large amounts of microscopy data in order to investigate specific research questions, develop new algorithms for image cytometry, as well as to develop new technologies for image-based cell separation. In the current data-driven economy, the ability to acquire and analyze large amounts of data are valuable skills in many areas of science and engineering. The proposed equipment will provide trainees the opportunity to develop and demonstrate these skills.*****