Confocal microscope for multichannel and live imaging

随着可用于跟踪活细胞中蛋白质定位的荧光探针的发展，细胞生物学发生了革命性的变化。具有不同光谱特性的荧光探针的种类越来越多，使得它们能够用于涉及多个细胞成分的共定位研究。传统荧光显微镜的主要局限性是很难观察厚样品深处的结构。共焦显微镜的出现导致了生物学中的第二次成像革命。共焦显微镜使用仅聚焦在感兴趣平面的激光扫描样品。这允许过滤来自样品焦外区域的信号。并开启了在天然组织甚至整个生物体中观察蛋白质的令人兴奋的可能性。在越来越多的情况下，需要同时获取3种或更多不同蛋白质的数据，以确定蛋白质驻留在哪里，以及它与细胞中其他蛋白质或结构的关系。最近，在活细胞或整个生物体中观察蛋白质的能力使研究人员能够实时研究细胞过程，这再次使细胞生物学发生了革命性的变化。新一代共焦显微镜提供了快速的扫描速度，使实时成像成为可能。我们的研究小组目前正在使用多个荧光探针来研究各种生物过程。然而，我们受到缺乏可操作的共焦显微镜的限制。该部门现有的共焦显微镜不是为活体成像而设计的。此外，它还限制了可以检测到的蛋白质的数量。此外，它来自一家不再制造或服务共焦显微镜的公司。*它的维护成本很高，而且无法更换或升级老化的部件。*校园内或城市中没有其他共焦显微镜。*我们正在要求一种新的共焦显微镜，它将能够在我们的研究需求所要求的水平上发挥作用。*该设备将使我们能够继续培养高质量的科学家，并保持一个优秀的研究计划。

Cell Biology has been revolutionized by the development of fluorescent probes that can be used to track the localization of proteins in living cells.  The increasing variety of fluorescent probes with different spectral characteristics has allowed their use in colocalization studies involving mutiple cell components.  A major limitation with traditional fluorescent microscopy is in the difficulty of observing structures deep within thick specimens.  The advent of confocal microscopy has lead to a second revolution in imaging in biology.  The confocal microscope scans the sample using a beam of laser light that is focused only on the plane of interest.  This allows filtering out of signal coming from out-of-focus areas of the sample, and has opened up the exciting possibility of viewing proteins in the context of their native tissue or even in whole organisms.  In an increasing number of cases the simultaneous acquisition of data for 3 or more different proteins is required to determine where a protein resides and its relation to other proteins or structures in the cell.  Recently, the ability to observe proteins in living cells or whole organisms has once more revolutionized cell biology by allowing researchers to study cellular processes in real time.  The newer generation of confocal microscopes offer fast scanning speeds that make live imaging feasable.  Our investigator group is currently utilizing multiple fluorescent probes to study a wide variety of biological processes.  However, we are limited by lack of access to an operable confocal microscope.  The existing confocal microscoope in the Department is not made for live imaging.  It is also limited in the number of proteins that can be detected.  Furthermore, it is from a company that no longer makes or services confocals.  It is costly to maintain and it is not possible to replace or upgrade the aging components.  There is no other confocal microscope on campus or in the city.  We are asking for a new confocal that will be able to perform at the level demanded by our research needs.  This equipment will allow us to continue to train quality scientists and maintain an excellent research program.