MRI-R2 Consortium: Development of an 8kx8k pixel direct detection CMOS camera with single electron counting for cryoEM

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。该主要研究仪器-恢复和再投资（MRI-R2）奖资助加利福尼亚大学弗朗西斯科分校（UCSF）开发具有单电子量化检测的8 kx 8 k像素直接检测CMOS相机，用于高分辨率单粒子冷冻电子显微镜（cryoEM）。新的相机系统将实现高帧读出速率，具有极高的灵敏度和高分辨率。 由于它使用的材料很少，不需要晶体，单粒子cryoEM已成为研究复杂生物组件的三维（3D）结构的不可或缺的工具，提供了X射线晶体学或NMR光谱等传统方法无法获得的关键信息。 相机开发项目将通过UCSF，劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室（LBNL）和Gatan，Inc.之间的合作进行协调，一家专门从事EM相机和外围设备的公司。 该相机将使大量研究项目受益，并改善先进cryoEM技术的15-25名学生和博士后的培训前景。 UCSF PI也积极参与夏季研究项目，并在实验室接待本科生，为他们提供先进技术的研究机会。将通过一个网站、出版物以及在地方和国际会议上的介绍，广泛宣传该摄像机的性能和可用性。 新技术的商业化可能会导致类似设备的更广泛传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Major Research Instrumentation-Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R2) award funds the development of an 8kx8k pixel direct detection CMOS camera with single electron quantized detection for high-resolution single particle cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). The new camera system will enable high frame readout rates, with extreme sensitivity and high resolution. Because it uses so little material and does not require crystals, single particle cryoEM has become an indispensable tool for studying the three-dimensional (3D) structures of complex biological assemblies, providing critical information not obtainable by more traditional methods such as x-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy. The camera development project will be coordinated through collaborations among UCSF, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and Gatan, Inc., a company specializing in EM cameras and peripherals. The camera will benefit a large number of research projects and improve the training prospects for 15-25 students and postdoctoral fellows in advanced cryoEM technology. UCSF PIs are also active participants in summer research programs and have been hosting undergraduates in their labs to provide research opportunities with advanced technologies. Performance and availability of the camera will be widely disseminated through a web site, in publications, and through presentations at local and international meetings. Commercialization of the new technology may lead to even wider dissemination of similar devices.