A microvolume spectrophotometer for quantitating DNA and protein, and measuring cell density

本申请的目的是要求一个紫外可见分光光度计，它代表了任何分子生物学和生物化学实验室的基本和必不可少的仪器。这些仪器经常用于测定DNA和蛋白质样品的浓度，或细菌细胞培养物的密度，例如，这是我们实验室许多程序中使用的重要测量。目前，我们有两个旧的紫外-可见分光光度计在WLU的理学院。然而，由于若干原因，继续依赖这些工具是不可行的。首先，其中一种可用仪器的位置使其定期使用不现实。第二种仪器位置更方便；然而，它被大量使用，因此经常不可用。此外，我们对现有仪器的依赖随着我的实验室小组的规模而增加，而且由于WLU和理学院生物研究活动的扩大，这两种仪器的压力也在增加。由于紫外可见分光光度计对我的研究项目至关重要，因此我已申请资金用于购置一台紫外可见分光光度计，并将其安置在我的实验室中。这将消除我们对旧工具的依赖，也将减轻这些工具的一些压力，这些工具目前已经超额认购，变得越来越不可靠。我要一个NanoDrop ND-2000c，这是一个微体积分光光度计。微体积分光光度法技术消除了将样品转移到比色皿的需要，并允许直接测量样品的吸光度，通常无需稀释。因此，可以使用小至0.5 μ l的样品体积，从而节省宝贵的样品和时间，可用于更重要的应用。NanoDrop ND-2000c是特别要求的，因为它还具有使用更传统的基于试管的方法测量吸光度的能力，这是一些不适合直接“纳米滴”测量方法的样品类型所需要的。该仪器将提供给威尔弗里德劳里埃大学理学院的其他研究人员。

The purpose of this application is to request a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, which represents a basic and essential instrument for any molecular biology and biochemistry lab. These instruments are used frequently to determine the concentration of DNA and protein samples, or the density of bacterial cell cultures, for example, which are important measurements for many procedures employed in our lab. We currently have access to two older UV-Vis spectrophotometers in the Faculty of Science at WLU. However, continued reliance on these instruments is not feasible for several reasons. First, the location of one of the available instruments makes its use on a regular basis impractical. The second instrument is more conveniently located; however, it is heavily used, and is therefore often unavailable. Furthermore, our reliance on the existing instruments has increased with the size of my lab group, and pressure on both instruments is increasing due to expansion of research activities in Biology at WLU and the Faculty of Science in general. Because of its central importance to my research program, I have therefore requested funds for the acquisition of a UV-Vis spectrophotometer to be housed within my laboratory. This will eliminate our reliance on the older instruments, and will relieve some of the pressure from those instruments as well, which are currently oversubscribed and becoming less realiable. I have requested a NanoDrop ND-2000c, which is a microvolume spectrophotometer. Microvolume spectrophotometry technology eliminates the need to transfer samples to a cuvette, and allows absorbance of the sample to be measured directly usually without dilution. For this reason, sample volumes as small as 0.5 µl can be used, thereby saving valuable sample and time which can be devoted fto more important applications. The NanoDrop ND-2000c is specifically requested, as it also has the capacity to measure absorbance using the more traditional cuvette-based approach, which is required for some sample types that are not amenable to the direct "nanodrop" method of measurement. The instrument will be made available to other researchers in the Faculty of Science at Wilfrid Laurier University.