TIRF microscope upgrade for Concordia University

我们正在申请资金购买全内反射荧光（TIRF）显微镜装置，该装置将允许在细胞，分离细胞器和合成膜表面研究单分子（高空间分辨率）和快速膜动力学（高时间分辨率）。我们计划通过升级现有的宽视场荧光显微镜工作站，激光，红外射频控制器，专用物镜，滤光片和软件来构建这个新的TIRF显微镜；这是首次将这项技术引入康考迪亚大学的最具成本效益的方式。该设备将主要用于研究驱动生物膜分配的基本机制；聚变和裂变；内吞作用、受体循环和第二信使信号的蛋白质分选突触可塑性;细胞骨架重组;细胞分裂;还有免疫反应。这种TIRF显微镜将提供给整个康考迪亚研究社区，也将被用于，例如，检查纳米粒子的表面图案和人类癌细胞的纳米载体内化——以支持康考迪亚不断增长的纳米技术计划。虽然这个设备对我们的研究项目是必不可少的，但康考迪亚大学校园里没有TIRF显微镜。因此，我们必须将精致的样品运送到蒙特里萨大学和麦吉尔大学的非现场付费使用设施；不幸的是，我们的许多样本不能在穿越城市的旅途中存活下来，这使我们无法进行关键的实验，从而阻碍了我们研究项目在国际水平上竞争的能力。该显微镜装置将支持我们不同科学社区成员之间的协作，多学科研究，连接生理学，神经科学，免疫学，肿瘤学，生物物理学和纳米技术。该设备将确保我们实验室的近23名年轻科学家（以及将使用该显微镜的bb300名人员）将获得现代显微镜技术的高质量培训，使他们能够为加拿大在纳米技术和医学方面具有竞争力的学术和工业部门做出重大贡献。

We are requesting funds to purchase a Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscope setup that will permit the study of single molecules (high spatial resolution) and fast membrane dynamics (high temporal resolution) on the surface of cells, isolated organelles and fabricated membranes. We plan to build this new TIRF microscope by upgrading an existing wide-field epifluorescence microscope workstation with lasers, a TIRF controller, specialized objective lenses, filter cubes, and software; this is the most cost effective way to bring this technology to Concordia University for the first time. This equipment will be primarily used to study the fundamental mechanisms that drive biological membrane partitioning; fusion and fission; protein sorting in context to endocytosis, receptor recycling and second messenger signaling; synaptic plasticity; cytoskeletal reorganization; cell division; and the immune response. This TIRF microscope will be available to the entire Concordia research community and will also be used, for example, to examine surface patterning of nanoparticles and nanocarrier internalization by human cancer cells - in support of Concordia's growing nanotechnology program. Although this equipment is essential for our research programs, Concordia University does not have a TIRF microscope on campus. Thus, we must transport delicate samples to off-site pay-for-use facilities at the Université de Montréal and McGill University; unfortunately many of our samples do not survive the trip across town preventing us from performing critical experiments altogether and thus hindering the our ability of research programs to compete at an international level. This microscope setup will support collaborative, multidisciplinary research between members of our diverse scientific community bridging physiology, neuroscience, immunology, oncology, biophysics and nanotechnology. This equipment will ensure that the nearly 23 young scientists in our laboratories (and > 300 personnel that will have access to this microscope) will get high-quality training in modern microscopy techniques allowing them to make major contributions to Canada's competitive academic and industrial sectors in nanotechnology and medicine.