MRI: Acquisition of a Field Emission Gun Transmission Electron Microscope for Biological Structure Determination

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。资金已授予德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校（UTEP）在里卡多·贝尔纳尔博士的指导下购买一台新的200千伏场发射枪电子显微镜，配备了一个能够在液氮温度下保持样品的载物台。这种新仪器将用于确定高分子组装体的高分辨率三维结构，如纳米聚合物颗粒，病毒和各种蛋白质复合物。包括纳米技术、病毒学、生物化学和细胞生物学在内的学科都依赖于定义分子结构来正确理解功能。这种最先进的仪器将允许探测三维结构，以接近原子的分辨率。整个区域的研究人员都将有机会使用这一新工具，从而增加其作为区域资源的影响。UTEP正在建立一个具有高度竞争力的低温电子显微镜设施，作为扩大研究能力的更大结构生物学倡议的一部分。UTEP拥有用于内部X射线晶体学、NMR以及用于结构测定的强大计算资源的设施。此外，该大学已开始建设一个新的化学大楼，其中包括一个冷冻EM设施，以容纳新的仪器。 小分子和大分子X-射线晶体学与新的核磁共振仪器和新的低温EM设施将有助于在UTEP和美国西南部地区建立一个极具竞争力的结构生物学项目。在UTEP拥有这种先进的仪器不仅会刺激代表性不足的少数民族追求科学事业，而且会为UTEP学生提供培训，使他们在一个具有竞争力的领域具有竞争力。国际一级。用这一仪器获得的数据结果将在影响力大的同行评审科学期刊上发表，并将在科学会议上介绍，以便广泛传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Funding has been awarded to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) under the direction of Dr. Ricardo Bernal for the purchase of a new 200 kilovolt field emission gun electron microscope equipped with a stage that is capable of maintaining the sample at liquid nitrogen temperatures. This new instrument will be used to determine the high resolution three-dimensional structure of macromolecular assemblies such as nanopolymer particles, viruses, and various protein complexes. Disciplines including nanotechnology, virology, biochemistry and cell biology all rely on defining molecular structure to properly understand function. This state of the art instrument will allow the probing of three dimensional structures to nearly atomic resolution. Researchers throughout the region will have access to the new instrument increasing its impact as a regional resource. UTEP is in the process of establishing a highly competitive cryo-electron microscopy facility as part of a larger structural biology initiative to expand research capabilities. Facilities exist at UTEP for in-house X-ray crystallography, NMR as well as powerful computational resources for structure determination. Furthermore, the University has started construction of a new Chemistry building that includes a cryo-EM facility to house the new instrument. Small molecule and macromolecular X-ray crystallography together with new NMR instrumentation and the new cryo EM facility will help establish a highly competitive structural biology program at UTEP and the southwestern region of the U.S. Having this sophisticated instrument at UTEP will not only stimulate underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in science but it will provide UTEP students with the training that will make them highly competitive at an international level. Results from data obtained with this instrument will be published in high impact peer reviewed scientific journals and will be presented at scientific conferences for wide dissemination.