Flow cytometer for advanced cell characterization in tissue-engineering applications

所要求的流式细胞仪系统将使我们能够推进我们的研究计划，并在开发新的策略以促进组织再生的广泛应用方面取得重要进展，包括新型整形外科、重建和心脏疗法。了解组织工程结构中的细胞行为对于推进我们的研究至关重要。流式细胞仪有助于快速、实时地表征细胞，产生从蛋白质表达到细胞活力的广泛数据。在非常小的细胞样本中可以同时测量多达8个不同的检测参数，使其成为研究人员可用的最强大的工具之一。所要求的系统将补充我们实验室设施中目前可用的现有多用户设备。该设备将直接支持5名研究人员及其研究小组的独立和协作研究努力，其中包括化学工程系、机械工程系和材料工程系的30多名研究生。此外，工程学院的其他使用者，以及更广泛的皇后大学，均可使用这些设备。所申请的资金将显著增强我们的研究能力，并使我们在开发新的基于细胞的再生疗法方面保持国际竞争力，包括在软组织工程中应用成人干细胞。

The requested flow cytometry system will enable us to advance our research programs and make important progress towards the development of new strategies to promote tissue regeneration in a broad range of applications, including novel orthopaedic, reconstructive, and cardiac therapies. An understanding of the cellular behaviour within tissue-engineered constructs is vital to advancing our research. The flow cytometer facilitates the rapid, real-time characterization of cells, yielding extensive data, ranging from protein expression to cellular viability. Up to 8 different detection parameters can be simultaneously measured in very small samples of cells, making this one of the most powerful tools available to researchers. The requested system will complement the existing multi-user equipment that is currently available in our lab facilities. This equipment will directly support the independent and collaborative research efforts of 5 investigators, and their research groups, including over 30 graduate students in the Departments of Chemical Engineering, and Mechanical and Materials Engineering. In addition, the equipment will be made available to other users in the Faculty of Engineering, as well as more broadly at Queen's University. The funding requested will significantly enhance our research capabilities and allow us to remain competitive at an international level in the development of new cell-based regenerative therapies, including in the application of adult stem cells for soft tissue engineering.