Request for live cell confocal TIRF microscope

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请用于购买具有宽视场，全内反射荧光（TIRF）和共聚焦功能的尼康Ti倒置显微镜，用于活细胞成像。该仪器将被安置在匹兹堡大学医学院生物成像中心（CBI）内。这个核心设施的任务是为匹兹堡大学医学院和医学中心的所有研究小组提供全面的光和电子光学、图像分析和形态测量方法。共聚焦显微镜是中心提供的一项重要服务，有多点扫描单台显微镜可供用户使用。在核心设施中没有多点（旋转盘或移动针孔阵列）共聚焦或TIRF成像显微镜。在pi实验室和校园的其他地方有这种类型的仪器，但这些不是核心设备。只要有可能，PI一直在自己的显微镜上为用户提供一些时间，尽管目前在PI自己的显微镜上使用少量未使用的时间根本不可能满足活细胞共聚焦和TIRF成像的需求。因此，这种应用的原因是为CBI的用户提供高速活细胞共聚焦和TIRF成像。重要的是要认识到，CBI在这次类似设备的竞争中有两个应用程序。另一项应用是将活细胞共聚焦放置在区域生物防护设施的新成像核心（CBI卫星）中，仅用于对高度危险的病原体进行成像。由于这一显微镜的特殊功能和极其有限的访问权限，这两种应用程序之间绝对没有冗余。自17年前CBI开始运作以来，它已成为医学研究界的一个组成部分，目前参与医疗领域内200多个公共卫生服务资助小组的研究项目，以及公共卫生服务支助的其他部门和邻近机构的研究人员的项目。这里要求的设备是这一机构设施持续增长的关键组成部分。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This request is for funds to purchase a Nikon Ti inverted microscope with widefield, total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) and confocal capabilities for live cell imaging. This instrument will be housed within the Center for Biologic Imaging (CBI) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The mandate of this core facility is to provide access to a full range of light and electron optical, image analysis, and morphometric methods to all research groups within the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Medical Center. Confocal microscopy is an essential service provided by the center, and there are multiple point scanning single microscopes available to users. There are no multipoint (spinning disk or moving pinhole array) confocal or TIRF imaging microscopes in the core facility. There are instruments of this type in the PIs laboratory and elsewhere on campus, however these are not core equipment. The PI has been making some time available to users on his own microscopes whenever possible, though at the current time it is simply impossible to meet demand for live cell confocal and TIRF imaging using the few unused hours on the PIs own microscopes. Therefore the reasons for this application are to provide high speed live cell confocal and TIRF imaging to users of the CBI. It is important to recognize that the CBI has two applications in this competition for similar equipment. The other application, for a live cell confocal will be placed in the new imaging core (a CBI satellite) in the regional biocontainment facility and will only be used for imaging highly dangerous pathogens. Because of the extremely limited access to and specialized function of this other microscope, there is absolutely no redundancy between the two applications. Since the CBI commenced operations 17 years ago, it has become an integral part of the medical research community currently participating in research projects with more than 200 PHS funded groups within the medical area, as well as in PHS supported projects with investigators in other departments and at neighboring institutions. The device requested here is a critical component of the continued growth of this institutional facility.