Asylum Research MFP-3D-BIO Atomic Force Microscope

项目摘要 在此应用程序中，我们要求资金用于购买庇护研究MFP-3D- BIO原子力显微镜（AFM）集成Zeiss Observer.Z1倒置荧光显微镜 显微镜本申请中要求的最先进的AFM是最好的AFM 以满足我们在全国儿童医院（NCH）目前和可预见的需求，它将 在我们的形态学核心实验室进行安置和操作。重要的是，虽然我们没有 将这种AFM与共聚焦显微镜相结合，我们预见未来的研究可能 需要这种专门的功能;因此，拟议的AFM将位于 目前蔡司LSM 700共焦在我们的形态核心，这将使我们能够暂时 转换专用AFM蔡司倒置显微镜，以适应共焦扫描 头部，使我们能够以一种中立的方式拥有共焦功能。由于 目前NCH校园内还没有AFM，该仪器将为 我们的NIH资助的研究项目。这些项目迫切需要了解生物 系统在更基础的水平，并应用这种理解的生物力学 这些系统的性能，以各种问题，如心血管疾病，微生物 发病机理、生物医学工程、围产期疾病和癌症。所请求的MFP- 3D-BIO AFM是多功能的，有几个关键功能，使其有别于其他仪器 在市场上，使其实现更好的性能：（1）它具有最高的热- 市场上任何AFM的有限分辨率，使其非常适合测量生物力学 细胞、生物膜和结合的力，如我们的申请中所述，（2）当容纳在 隔音罩，数据中的噪音极低，（3）人性化控制， 分析和图像处理软件与Igor Pro 6集成，允许近乎无限的 仪器控制和分析，和（4）悬臂弹簧常数可以校准 而不与样品进行物理接触，这在使用时是真实的好处。 柔软和/或敏感材料。这些功能，沿着很少或不需要维护， 高分辨率数据采集，无需大量长期费用。此请求的MFP- 3D-BIO对于支持NIH资助的主要和次要用户的需求至关重要 对生物样品（细胞，生物膜， DNA），通常在样本有限且灵敏度是关键要求的情况下。

Project Summary In this application, we are requesting funds for the purchase of an Asylum Research MFP-3D- BIO atomic force microscope (AFM) integrated with a Zeiss Observer.Z1 inverted fluorescent microscope. This state-of-the-art AFM requested in this application is the best available AFM to suit our current and foreseeable needs at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH), and it will be housed and operated from our Morphology Core Laboratory. Importantly, while we are not integrating this AFM with a confocal microscope, we foresee that future studies may necessitate this specialized functionality; as such, the proposed AFM will be situated next to the current Zeiss LSM 700 confocal in our Morphology Core, which will allow us to temporarily convert the dedicated AFM Zeiss inverted microscope to accommodate the confocal scan head, allowing us to have confocal capabilities in a budge-neutral manner. As there is currently not an AFM on the NCH campus, this instrument will add significant functionality to our NIH-funded research projects. These projects have a critical need to understand biological systems at a more fundamental level, and to apply this understanding of the biomechanical properties of these systems to problems as diverse as cardiovascular disease, microbial pathogenesis, biomedical engineering, perinatal diseases, and cancer. The requested MFP- 3D-BIO AFM is versatile and has several key features that set it apart from other instruments on the market that allow it to achieve better performance: (1) it has the highest thermally- limited resolution of any AFM on the market, making it very suitable to measure biomechanical forces of cells, biofilms, and binding as described in our application, (2) when housed in an acoustic enclosure, the noise in the data is extremely low, (3) and the user-friendly control, analysis, and image processing software integrates with Igor Pro 6, allowing for near limitless instrument control and analysis, and (4) the cantilever spring constant can be calibrated without making physical contact with the samples, which is a real benefit when working with soft and/or sensitive materials. These features, along with little to no maintenance, result in high-resolution data acquisition without significant long-term expense. This requested MFP- 3D-BIO will be critical to support the needs of our NIH-funded Major and Minor Users performing sensitive biomechanical measurements on biological samples (cells, biofilms, DNA), often where samples are limited and sensitivity is a key requirement.