Direct Detector for a 300kV Cryoelectron Microscope

描述(由申请者提供)：我们正在申请购买Gatan K2 Summit直接电子探测器的资金，该探测器将支持德克萨斯大学休斯顿医学院九名NIH资助的研究人员的研究计划。该探测器将取代目前与Polara G2 300KVFEG冷冻电子显微镜接口的过时和不能使用的Tietz 4k x 4k电荷耦合器件。这种最先进的K2 Summit探测器显著提高了信噪比、快速读出速率，并具有电子计数功能，将为研究人员提供支持高分辨率单粒子、2D电子晶体和电子冷冻断层扫描项目所需的前所未有的分辨率和吞吐量。来自K2探测器的数据将在一个单独的高端工作站上收集，通过峰会的高速数据底盘处理，读出速率最高可达每秒400帧。探测器将被集成到现有的Polara G2电子显微镜中，并将利用已经到位的完善的基础设施进行管理。德克萨斯大学健康科学中心没有其他直接探测器(或低温电子显微镜)能够支持这些项目。四个主要研究人员的预计总使用率为~80%，剩下约20%的时间用于五个次要研究人员，以及支持其他需要低温电子显微镜的潜在新项目。该研究所作出了为期五年的每年40000美元的重大财政承诺，以支持新的直接探测器的预计维护费用。总而言之，我们有一批资金充足的NIH调查人员，他们依赖的是一台无法使用且已过时的9年前的CCD摄像机。他们的所有研究项目都利用低温EM的独特优势，使许多与健康相关的基本原核和真核细胞生物和生化过程的分子机制和功能之间能够相互关联。所要求的Gatan K2 Summit直接探测器将极大地加快他们的研究计划的步伐，并提供以前无法实现的结构洞察。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We are requesting funds to purchase a Gatan K2 Summit direct electron detector that will support the research programs of nine NIH-funded investigators at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. This detector will replace an outdated and unserviceable Tietz 4k x 4k CCD presently interfaced with a Polara G2 300 kV FEG cryoelectron microscope. This state-of-the-art K2 Summit detector has significantly improved signal-to-noise, fast read-out rates and has electron-counting capabilities that will provide investigators unprecedented resolution and throughput required for supporting high-resolution single particle, 2D electron crystallography and electron cryo-tomography projects. Data from the K2 detector will be collected on a separate high-end workstation processed through the Summit's high-speed data chassis capable of read-out rates of up to 400 frames per second. The detector will be integrated into the existing Polara G2 electron microscope and will be managed using the well-established infrastructure already in place. There is no other direct detector (or cryo-electron microscope) in the UT Health Science Center capable of supporting these projects. The total projected usage from the four major investigators is ~80%, leaving ~20% time for the five minor investigators and for supporting other new potential projects requiring cryoelectron microscopy. The Institution has made a major financial commitment of $40,000 per year for five years to support the projected maintenance costs of the new direct detector. In total, we have a cohort of well-funded NIH investigators relying on an unserviceable and out-of-date 9-year-old CCD camera. All of their research programs employ the unique advantages of cryo-EM to enable correlations between molecular mechanism and function for a host of basic prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell biological and biochemical processes that carry significant health- related impacts. The requested Gatan K2 Summit direct detector will enormously facilitate the pace of their research programs and provide structural insights not previously achievable.