ZEISS LSM710 SCANNING CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE

描述(由申请人提供)：怀特黑德研究所要求提供50万美元购买蔡司LSM710扫描共聚焦显微镜，该显微镜将安装在W.M.凯克核心设施中，并向怀特黑德和麻省理工学院的研究人员提供。扫描共焦显微镜可以对活的和固定的材料进行光学切片，这样研究人员就可以对固体样本进行深入成像，并对样本进行3D重建。所要求的仪器非常重要，因为它将取代过时的、已有9年历史的蔡司LSM510，后者目前是怀特黑德研究所唯一的扫描共焦显微镜。目前LSM510的劣化已开始阻碍研究，因为该仪器的维修时间已变得过长，无法获得更换部件，并且系统无法支持升级。我们之所以选择蔡司LSM710作为LSM510的替代品，是因为LSM710上的大量突出功能、易用性以及蔡司出色的客户支持。LSM710提供的一些新功能包括：405 nm波长激光器，与LSM710的S激光器相结合，可以同时对多达十种不同的染料进行多幅成像；新的光谱循环回路和双门分束器，将显著提高灵敏度，增强我们执行无光毒性实时成像的能力。通过从怀特黑德研究所获得212,587美元的财政承诺，将为LSM710购买一台容量为488-640 nm的可调脉冲激光器。这种可调谐激光允许荧光寿命成像(FLIM)，这使得研究分子寿命成为可能，并促进FRET(荧光共振能量转移)分析，以确定分子相互作用。LSM710可以执行FRAP(荧光漂白后恢复)来分析分子动力学；钙成像简单，并且可以很容易地对荧光指示剂或生物活性分子进行靶向去除。LSM710附带的新Zen软件将简化以前艰巨的任务，如去卷积、比率成像和光漂白分析。除了购买薄膜设备外，怀特黑德研究所还将为LSM710的年度服务合同做出贡献，并为培训用户和监督仪器使用的两名技术人员提供工资支持。通过扩展研究人员可用的实验方法，LSM710将极大地促进NIH资助的许多项目的成功，包括神经退化、神经系统发育和出生缺陷、精神健康障碍、免疫功能、减数分裂和相关的染色体异常、癌症、代谢调节、再生和干细胞鉴定的分析。收购LSM710将使研究人员能够解决这些重要的生物医学问题，这项研究的结果将包括新的诊断和治疗方法，与NIH的使命一致。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Whitehead Institute requests $500,000 for the purchase of a Zeiss LSM710 scanning confocal microscope, to be located in the W.M. Keck Core Facility, and made available to both Whitehead and MIT investigators. Scanning confocal microscopes allow optical sectioning of living and fixed material, so that investigators can image deep into a solid sample, and make a 3D reconstruction of the sample. The instrument requested is of great importance, as it will replace an out-dated, nine year old Zeiss LSM510, currently the only scanning confocal microscope at the Whitehead Institute. Deterioration of the current LSM510 has begun to hamper research, as repair times on this instrument have become excessive, replacement parts cannot be obtained, and the system cannot support upgrades. Our choice of the Zeiss LSM710 as a replacement for the LSM510 is due to the large number of outstanding features on the LSM710, its ease of use, and Zeiss' excellent customer support. Some of the new features offered by the LSM710 include a 405nm wavelength laser, which, in conjunction with the LSM710's five other lasers, allows simultaneous multi-imaging of up to ten different dyes; a new spectral recycling loop and a twin gate beam splitter which will increase sensitivity significantly, enhancing our ability to perform live imaging without phototoxicity. A tunable pulsed laser with a capacity from 488-640nm will be purchased for the LSM710 through a financial commitment of $212,587 from the Whitehead Institute. This tunable laser allows Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM), which enables study of molecular lifetime, and facilitates FRET (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) analyses, to determine molecular interactions. The LSM710 can perform FRAP (Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching) to analyze molecular dynamics; calcium imaging is simple and targeted uncaging of fluorescent indicators or bioactive molecules is readily feasible. New Zen software that comes with the LSM710 will simplify previously arduous tasks, such as deconvolution, ratio imaging, and photobleaching analysis. In addition to purchasing FLIM equipment, the Whitehead Institute will contribute to the yearly service contract for the LSM710, and to salary support for two technicians who train users and oversee use of the instrument. By expanding the experimental approaches available to researchers, the LSM710 will contribute greatly to the success of many NIH-funded projects, including the analysis of neural degeneration, nervous system development and birth defects, mental health disorders, immune function, meiosis and associated chromosomal abnormalities, cancer, metabolic regulation, regeneration and identification of stem cells. Acquisition of the LSM710 will allow researchers to address these important biomedical issues, and the outcomes of this research will include new diagnostics and therapeutics, in accord with the mission of the NIH.