Autoclave supporting molecular biology

这是一个高压灭菌器的应用程序，将安装在阿尔伯塔大学生物科学大楼的六楼。这个高压灭菌器将是四个非常成功的研究小组在动物生物学的不同方面工作的主要高压灭菌设备。本研究包括电压门控钾通道和5 -羟色胺受体的结构/功能分析，蜱与宿主之间的生理相互作用，各种动物自然种群的结构和进化，以及一些最基础的海洋动物的发育生物学。这些研究使我们对神经冲动传递和对血清素水平的反应机制有了基本的了解，为合理设计高度特异性的药物和杀虫剂提供了基础；2)我们了解了携带人类和动物病原体的蜱虫在摄食阶段如何与宿主相互作用，从而确定了干预疾病传播的机会之窗；3)我们对人类活动和自然事件如何影响动物种群的理解，以及当前动物种群是如何进化的；4)多细胞动物身体和神经系统发育的最基本机制是如何进化的。所有这些研究活动都依赖于可靠的高压灭菌器的可用性。所有三个研究工作都广泛使用分子生物学技术，这严重依赖于生产无菌培养基、溶液和设备的能力，以及在实验结束时对细菌和细胞培养物进行净化的能力。我们还必须能够对各种动物组织进行高压灭菌，以确保任何人畜共患病在处理之前都被灭活。目前安装的机组已经连续使用了15年，几乎达到了使用寿命。零件不再可用，因此维修变得越来越困难。

This is an application for an autoclave, to be installed on the 6th floor of the Biological Sciences Building at the University of Alberta. This autoclave will be the primary autoclave facility for four highly successful research groups working on different aspects of animal biology. This research includes structure/function analysis of voltage-gated potassium channels and serotonin receptors, the physiological interactions between ticks and their hosts, the structure and evolution of natural populations of a wide variety of animals, and the developmental biology of some of the most basal marine animals. These studies are informing 1) our basic understanding of the mechanisms of nerve impulse transmission and responses to serotonin levels that provide a basis for rational design of highly specific drugs and pesticides, 2) our understanding of how ticks that carry human and animal pathogens interact with the host during the feeding phase, thus identifying a window of opportunity for intervening in disease transmission, 3) our understanding of how human activities and natural events affect animal populations, and how current populations of animals have evolved and 4) how the most basic mechanisms of development of the body and nervous system of multicellular animals has evolved. All of these research activities depend on availability of a reliable autoclave. All three research efforts use molecular biological techniques extensively, which is critically dependent on the ability to produce sterile media, solutions, and equipment and to decontaminate bacterial and cell cultures at the end of experiments. We also must be able to autoclave a variety of animal tissues to ensure that any zoonoses are inactivated prior to disposal. The unit that is currently installed has been used constantly for 15 years and has nearly reached the end of its useful lifetime. Parts are no longer available and so repairs are becoming more and more difficult.