A Nikon A1R Confocal Microscope System

描述（由申请人提供）：我们申请资金购买尼康A1R共聚焦显微镜系统，以取代我们已有10年历史的蔡司/BioRad Radiance系统，蔡司不能再保证支持或维修。新仪器将被安置在麻省总医院（MGH）多学科Simches研究中心大楼的膜生物学（PMB）显微镜核心项目中。这个MGH批准的核心设施的任务是为MGH社区内外的个人研究小组，3个NIH资助的中心和3个专题中心提供使用显微镜和成像的全方位技术。在过去的几年中，核心在静态和活细胞成像技术方面已经发展了相当多的专业知识，但由于我们现有设备的年龄以及缺乏适当的激光线和其他硬件选择，在提供复杂的荧光方法方面已经落后。这个应用程序的三个主要原因是：1)确保我们可以继续提供常规共聚焦显微镜服务，我们广泛的核心用户群在面对一个旧的和潜在的不可修复的现有系统；2)扩大我们的核心能力，为我们的用户群提供最先进的荧光模式，包括FRET， FRAP和分子解锁技术；3)提高我们的多波长活细胞成像能力，目前由于缺乏适当的激光线和双色灵敏度差，我们现有的2003年份Perkin Elmer旋转磁盘活细胞成像系统受到限制。自1986年PMB核心成立以来，它已成为MGH/HMS医学研究界的核心部分。仅在过去的12个月里，就有超过30个nih资助的pi和他们在HMS/MGH和其他机构的众多实验室成员成为Core共聚焦的重要用户，多年来，我们已经从我们的用户群中支持了数百篇同行评审的出版物。Core一直在不断改进和升级Core设施，以支持其用户群。这是利用NIH SIG应用程序的资金以及MGH领导层的大量机构支持实现的。为我们的核心用户群提供持续访问最新荧光成像平台对于保持MGH社区处于nih资助的健康相关研究的前沿至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request funds to purchase a Nikon A1R Confocal Microscope system to replace our 10 year-old Zeiss/BioRad Radiance system that Zeiss can no longer guarantee to support or repair. The new instrument will be housed within the Program in Membrane Biology (PMB) Microscopy Core at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the multidisciplinary Simches Research Center building. The mandate of this MGH- approved Core facility is to provide access to a full range of techniques using microscopy and imaging to individual research groups, 3 NIH funded Centers and 3 Thematic Centers within the MGH community and beyond. Over the past few years, the Core has developed considerable expertise in static and live cell imaging techniques but has fallen behind in providing sophisticated fluorescence methodologies due to the age of our existing equipment and its lack of appropriate laser lines and other hardware options. The three major reasons for this application are: 1) To ensure that we can continue to provide routine confocal microscopy services to our extensive Core user base in the face of an old and potentially non-repairable existing system; 2) To expand our Core capabilities to provide state-of-the-art fluorescence modalities including FRET, FRAP and molecular uncaging techniques to our user base; 3) To improve our multiwavelength live cell imaging capabilities that are at the moment limited by the absence of appropriate laser lines and poor dual-color sensitivity on our existing 2003 vintage Perkin Elmer spinning disk live cell imaging system. Since the PMB Core was founded in 1986, it has become a central part of the MGH/HMS medical research community. Over 30 NIH-funded PIs and their numerous lab members within the HMS/MGH and in other institutions made significant user of the Core confocal in the past 12 months alone, and we have supported literally hundreds of peer-reviewed publications from our user base over the years. The Core has an ongoing quest to constantly improve and upgrade Core facilities in support of its user base. This has been achieved using funds from NIH SIG applications as well as considerable institutional support from the MGH leadership. Providing our Core user base with continued access to an up-to-date fluorescence imaging platform is essential to maintaining the MGH community at the cutting edge of NIH-funded, health-related research.