Purchase of a confocal microscope for Plymouth Light Microscopy Services (PLiMS) at Peninsula Medical School

我们申请为普利茅斯大学健康学院Derriford研究设施（DRF）的光学显微镜核心设施购买专用显微镜。2017年，普利茅斯大学在普利茅斯大学医院NHS信托基金旁边开设了DRF。该大学的这项重大投资通过将医学和生物医学团队安置在同一栋大楼内，加强和促进了其医学研究。选择医院旁边的位置是为了支持从基本分子发现到临床试验的研究转化特征，以发现和建立新的治疗方法。我们团队的研究属于MRC的职权范围，专注于感染和免疫、分子和细胞医学、神经科学和精神健康、抗微生物药物耐药性、肥胖研究、再生医学和干细胞。由于我们在国内和国际上的成功，DRF自成立以来显著增长。我们科学家的研究成果依赖于高度专业化的显微镜，共聚焦显微镜的使用。这些机器能产生活体组织检查和其他样本中分子的精确图像，这不仅是诊断和研究疾病所必需的，而且也是追踪治疗效果所必需的。目前，我们有两台共聚焦显微镜，服务于44名研究人员，其中一台已经使用了10年，另一台是5年的基本模型。这两款车的使用率都很高，每款车的等待时间都要长达14天。这严重阻碍了我们研究和发现新疗法的进展。第三台共聚焦显微镜将把我们的等待时间缩短到2到3天。至关重要的是，我们不仅需要一台新机器来加强现有的研究，而且我们希望展望未来，进入新的研究途径，以保持竞争力和生产力。该显微镜配备了最先进的激光器，新型高灵敏度探测器和新型激光应用，可以深入了解深层组织。这些是我们认为在未来生物医学研究中处于发现前沿所必需的特征。我们在脑肿瘤治疗和新型抗生素的发现方面的工作很好地说明了国际公认的卓越研究。脑肿瘤是年轻人和儿童中最常见和最致命的癌症，因此发现治疗方法迫在眉睫。我们脑肿瘤卓越中心的治疗发展需要多路成像，在一个肿瘤样本中同时记录多达12种不同的分子。我们的显微镜只能检测到5种分子。通过多路复用确定肿瘤组成的速度和能力是识别和探测治疗方案有效性的关键。对现有抗生素日益增长的耐药性可能会使我们对感染失去防御能力，即使是轻微的皮肤割伤也可能致命。因此，发现新的抗生素至关重要。我们工厂的显微镜不能检测细菌。该显微镜将允许我们每天在一个样本中检测多达12种不同的细菌，并快速测试新抗生素的功效，我们已经成功地从深海海绵和其他来源中分离出抗生素。最后，所要求的共聚焦显微镜将成为一个完善的、有监督的和核心资助的成像设施的一部分，该设施运行顺利。所有用户都将接受培训，并从现场按需援助中受益。加上计划和付费的定期服务，机器将得到很好的照顾和使用几十年。总之，由于现有显微镜的容量和性能限制，迫切需要一种新的共聚焦显微镜，这将保证新机器的有效使用。提出的显微镜的新工具和它的模块化多功能基地将使我们的研究卓越的增长和产生杰出的成果。

We apply for the purchase of a specialised microscope for the light microscopy core facility at the Derriford Research Facility (DRF), Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth.In 2017 the University of Plymouth opened the DRF next to the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. This major investment by the University strengthened and facilitated its medical research by locating medical and biomedical teams into the same building. The location next to the hospital was chosen to underpin the translational character of the investigations from basic molecular discoveries to clinical trials to find and establish new treatments. Our teams' research falls into the remit of the MRC, focusing on infection and immunity, molecular and cellular medicine, neurosciences and mental health, antimicrobial resistance, obesity research and regenerative medicine and stem cells.Due to our national and international success the DRF grew significantly since its opening. The research accomplishments of our scientists depend on the use of highly specialised microscopes, confocal microscopes. These machines yield precise images of molecules in biopsies and other samples which are necessary not only for the diagnosis and study of diseases but also to follow efficacy of treatments. Currently, we have two confocal microscopes serving 44 researchers, of which one is already 10 years old and the other is a 5-year old basic model. Both are heavily used, with a waiting time of 14 days for either. This severely hampers progress of our research and discovery of new treatments. A third confocal microscope will shorten our waiting times to 2 to 3 days. Critically, we not only need a new machine to strengthen existing research but we want to look into the future and enter new research avenues to stay competitive and productive. The proposed microscope is equipped with a new state-of-the-art laser, novel high-sensitive detectors and a novel laser application allowing to gain insight into deep tissues. These are the features we identified as required to be at the forefront of discovery in future biomedical research. Our internationally recognised research excellence is well illustrated by work on the discovery of brain tumour therapies and on novel antibiotics. Brain tumours are the most common and lethal of cancers in young adults and children, making treatment discovery extremely urgent. Treatment development in our Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence requires multiplexed imaging, recording up to 12 different molecules simultaneously in one tumour sample. Our microscopes only allow us to detect 5 molecules. Speed and capacity to determine tumour composition with multiplexing is key for identification and probing the efficacy of treatment options. The growing resistance against available antibiotics threatens to leave us defenceless against infections, which would make even minor skin cuts potentially lethal. It is therefore pivotal to discover new antibiotics. The microscopes at our facility are not able to detect bacteria. The proposed microscope would allow us to detect up to 12 different bacteria in one sample per day and quickly test the efficacy of new antibiotics, which we are successfully isolating from deep sea sponges among other sources. Finally, the requested confocal microscope will be part of a well-established, supervised and core funded imaging facility, which runs smoothly. All users will be trained and benefit from on-site, on-demand assistance. Together with the planned and paid regular servicing, the machine will be well-cared for and used for decades.In summary, the pressing need for a new confocal microscope due to capacity and capability limitations of our extant microscopes will guarantee an efficient use of the new machine. The proposed microscope's novel tools and its modular versatile base will enable our research excellence to grow and generate outstanding results.