Automated fluorescence spectometer for life science research

随着生命科学研究在过去半个世纪的发展，荧光方法在生物系统研究中的应用呈指数级增长。毫无疑问，荧光光谱，包括时间分辨荧光，被认为是生物化学，细胞生物学和生物物理学的主要工具。事实上，荧光现在是一种主导力量，广泛应用于生物技术，医学诊断，DNA测序，法医学，基因分析，细胞运输和蛋白质生物化学，仅举几例。最近，荧光共振能量转移在细胞生物学中的应用经历了一次复兴，并以其相对于BRET的形式出现，该技术通过复杂的共聚焦显微镜进行，可以在体内研究蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络。此外，荧光检测是高度敏感的，往往可能在皮摩尔浓度。这项研究计划是针对安大略省伦敦PTI公司生产的高分辨率全自动QuantaMaster-40 (QM) t格式荧光分光光度计。该仪器在Guelph大学校园是独一无二的，因为它能够在全自动平台上进行激发和发射扫描，基于时间的（动力学）测量，热斜坡（Peltier控制），滴定和极化实验。自动化特别吸引人，因为它意味着配体结合常数的常规测量可以由计算机进行，而不是由技术人员或研究生整天站在仪器前。自动化是通过计算机控制百叶窗，步进电机，样品转塔，偏光器，珀尔梯热电和滴定装置，但它不以牺牲灵敏度和分辨率为代价；因此，PTI QM-40融合了两者的优点。由于QM-40仪器的超高灵敏度和全自动功能，该光谱仪预计将为众多大学研究人员的实验室节省每年数千小时的研究时间，同时提高高素质研究人员的生产力。

As Life Science Research has developed over the past half-century, there has been an exponential growth in the application of fluorescence methods to the study of biological systems. Undoubtedly, fluorescence spectroscopy, including time-resolved fluorescence, is considered to be a primary tool in biochemistry, cell biology, and biophysics. In fact, fluorescence is now a dominant force that is used extensively in biotechnology, medical diagnostics, DNA sequencing, forensics, genetic analysis, cellular trafficking, and protein biochemistry, to name only a few. Most recently, fluorescence resonance energy transfer has undergone a renaissance in its application to cell biology and has appeared as its relative known as BRET, conducted with sophisticated confocal microscopy, which allows in vivo study of protein-protein interaction networks. Furthermore, fluorescence detection is highly sensitive, and is often possible at picomolar concentrations. This research proposal is for a high-resolution and fully automated QuantaMaster-40 (QM) T-format, fluorescence spectrophotometer manufactured by PTI Inc. in London, Ontario. This instrument would be unique at the University of Guelph campus as it is capable of both excitation and emission scanning, time-based (kinetic) measurements, thermal ramping (Peltier control), titration and polarization experiments, in a fully automated platform. The automation is particularly appealing because it means that routine measurements of ligand-binding constants can be conducted by a computer rather than a technician or graduate student standing over the instrument all day. The automation is made possible through the computer control of shutters, stepper motors, sample turret, polarizers, Peltier thermoelectric, and titration devices, but it does not come at the expense of sensitivity and resolution; hence the PTI QM-40 merges the best of both worlds. This spectrometer is expected to save researchers in the labs of numerous University investigators, literally thousands of hours each year due to the ultra-high sensitivity and fully automated features of the QM-40 instrument, while at the same time, increasing the productivity of highly qualified research personnel.