Real time imaging system for cell and tissue cultures

生物医学研究依赖于对细胞功能的定量分析。这些功能大多发生在复杂的时空和多细胞环境中。相关的例子包括细胞分化和迁移、伤口闭合、细胞突起、球体形成、代谢反应、细胞程序性死亡、克隆性突起和细胞内信号事件。对这些反应的定量分析可以更深入地了解高度相关的病理学，识别药物靶点，并为医疗目的筛选药物效果。这项研究需要时间和局部解析的分析方法。在过去的几年里，第一代实时成像系统已经在医学院内建立起来，并通过先进的光学显微镜平台(ALMA)进行操作。该系统现在已经过时了，因为它只使用两个荧光通道，其激发设置可能会在长期的活细胞实验中造成光毒性。此外，要使该系统为许多用户所用，消毒是一个重要问题。下一代系统提供了许多额外的应用程序和软件模块，用于定量分析，没有光毒性问题，并有几个更多的荧光通道。使用过氧化氢，杀菌问题现在就可以解决了。下一代系统允许与其他细胞功能并行地探索新的应用，如新陈代谢或信号传递。此外，新的软件模块可用于复杂细胞反应的自动图像处理和高通量格式的自动定量分析。2415 ME3T研究生院、TransRegio SFB 219、SFB 1382、临床研究单位KFO344和KFO5011以及IZKF联盟软组织-牙槽骨串扰医学院的成员要求获得和操作最新的分析系统。因此，购买下一代成像系统对医学院和RWTH亚琛大学来说是一个机构上相关的基础设施重点。所要求的设备将增加学院成员进行和发表高质量研究的可能性，并获得足够的第三方资金。

Biomedical research relies on the quantitative analysis of cell functions. These functions mostly occur in complex spatiotemporal and multicellular settings. Relevant examples are cell differentiation and migration, wound closure, cell outgrowth, spheroid formation, metabolic responses, programmed cell death, clonal outgrowth and intracellular signalling events. The quantitative analysis of these responses allows deeper insight in highly relevant pathologies, the identification of drug targets and the screening of drug effects for medical treatment purposes. This research requires time and locally resolved analysis methods. Over the past years a real time imaging system of the first generation has been established within the Medical Faculty and operated via the advanced light microscopy platform (ALMA). The system is now outdated since it is using only two fluorescence channels and its excitation settings can cause phototoxicity in long term live-cell experiments. Additionally, sterilisation is an important issue to make the system available for many users. Next generation systems offer numerous additional applications and software modules for quantitative analysis without phototoxicity issues and with several further fluorescence channels. Using H2O2 the sterilization problem can now be solved. The next generation systems allow to explore new applications such as metabolism or signalling together with other cell functions in parallel. Furthermore, novel software modules are available for automated image processing of complex cellular responses and automated quantitative analysis in high throughput format. Acquisition and operation of an up-to-date analysis system is requested by members of the Graduate School 2415 ME3T, the Transregio SFB 219, the SFB 1382, the Clinical Research Units KFO344 and KFO5011 as well as the IZKF Consortium Soft Tissue-Alveolar Bone Crosstalk of the Medical Faculty. The acquisition of a next generation imaging system thus represents an institutionally relevant infrastructural focus for the Medical Faculty and the RWTH Aachen University. The requested equipment will boost the Faculty members’ possibility to perform and publish high quality research, and to receive adequate third-party funding.