Chemiluminescent Imaging System for Determination of Protein Expression and Identity

蛋白质是细胞中执行DNA提供的指令的分子。从制造细胞骨架到调节细胞分裂，蛋白质在每个活细胞内的每个过程中都是必不可少的。准确识别和量化细胞中特定蛋白质的能力对于科学家了解有多少不同的细胞功能受到控制至关重要。由于抗体具有区分细胞中数千种蛋白质的独特能力，因此检测特定蛋白质成为可能。这些抗体可以附着在发光分子上。加入一种特殊的化学物质会产生光信号，光信号与蛋白质的原始含量成正比。光信号随后由高灵敏度相机检测，并获得数字图像以供进一步分析。生成和分析这些图像的能力对于理解细胞中特定蛋白质的作用是绝对必要的。生物化学系和生物系目前还没有必要的设备来生成或分析这些类型的图像。本提案的申请人要求一种用于检测、定量和鉴定蛋白质的高灵敏度数码相机系统。该设备对于纽芬兰纪念大学生物化学和生物系的八个nserc资助的研究实验室的研究项目是绝对必要的。这些实验室的研究人员正在研究广泛的课题，包括癌细胞生物学、脂质代谢、胎儿和母体营养、植物能量学和植物病害。确定特定蛋白质如何参与这些过程将促进我们对模式生物和非模式生物的健康、生长和发育如何受到调节的认识。

Proteins are the molecules in cells that carry out the instructions provided by DNA. Proteins are essential for every process inside every living cell, from creating the cellular skeleton to regulating cell division. The ability to accurately identify and quantify specific proteins in the cell is essential for scientists to understand how many different cellular functions are controlled. Detection of specific proteins is possible because of the unique ability of antibodies to tell the difference between the thousands of proteins in the cell. These antibodies can be attached to a light producing molecule. Addition of a specific chemical causes the light signal to be produced, which is proportional to the original amount of protein present. The light signal is then detected by a highly sensitive camera and a digital image is acquired for further analysis. The ability to generate and analyze these images is absolutely essential for understanding the role of specific proteins in cells. The Departments of Biochemistry and Biology do not currently have access to the equipment necessary to generate or analyze these types of images. The applicants on this proposal are requesting a highly sensitive digital camera system for the detection, quantification and identification of proteins. This equipment is absolutely essential for the research programs of eight NSERC-funded research labs in the Biochemistry and Biology departments at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Researchers from these labs are investigating a wide range of subjects including cancer cell biology, lipid metabolism, fetal and maternal nutrition, plant energetics, and plant diseases. Determining how specific proteins contribute to these processes will advance our knowledge of how the health, growth and development of model and non-model organisms is regulated.