Laser scanning confocal microscope replacement for Concordia University

我们正在申请一种新的激光扫描共聚焦（LSC）显微镜的资金，该显微镜将用于对培养细胞，组织和整个生物体中的分子事件进行成像。该设备将主要用于支持nserc资助的细胞生物学研究项目，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;和叶绿体的生物发生。由于这台显微镜将对整个康考迪亚研究界开放，它还将检查人类癌细胞的纳米粒子和纳米载体内化，以支持该大学不断发展的纳米技术项目，并为新兴的神经光遗传学项目提供脑组织成像。重要的是，这个新系统将取代校园里唯一的LSC显微镜，这是康考迪亚研究人员13年来每天使用的重要基础设施。虽然在2008年对其进行了升级以延长其使用寿命，但这种过时的系统需要频繁维修并且功能有限，例如硬件和软件不能再升级（并且维修困难且昂贵），相对较低的激光功率结合缓慢的探测器限制了可以成像的样品类型，并且使用非常耗时。因此，这种旧的制度开始阻碍我们在研究领域的国际水平上竞争的能力。由于这种新的显微镜系统支持广泛的项目，它将鼓励我们不同科学社区成员之间的合作，多学科研究-连接生理学，神经科学，免疫学，肿瘤学，植物科学，生物物理学和纳米技术。此外，这些最先进的设备将确保近90名年轻科学家和人员在现代显微镜技术方面得到高质量的培训，使他们能够为加拿大在生物技术、纳米技术和医学等具有竞争力的学术和工业部门做出重大贡献。

We are requesting funds for a new Laser Scanning Confocal (LSC) microscope, which will be used to image molecular events within cultured cells, tissues and whole organisms. This equipment will be primarily used to support our NSERC-funded research programs in cell biology that 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 chloroplast biogenesis. Because the microscope will be available to the entire Concordia research community, it will also examine nanoparticles and nanocarrier internalization by human cancer cells, in support of the University's growing nanotechnology program, and to image brain tissue in support of an emerging neuro-optogenetics program. Importantly, this new system will replace the only LSC microscope on campus, a keystone piece of infrastructure used daily by Concordia researchers for 13 years. Although it was upgraded in 2008 to extend its life span, this outdated system requires frequent repairs and has limited capabilities, e.g. the hardware and software can no longer be upgraded (and are difficult and expensive to repair), the relatively low laser power combined with slow detectors limits the types of samples that can be imaged, and it is very time consuming to use. Thus, this old system is beginning to hinder our ability to compete at an international level in our fields of research. Because this new microscope system supports a wide-range of programs, it will encourage collaborative, multidisciplinary research between members of our diverse scientific community - bridging physiology, neuroscience, immunology, oncology, plant sciences, biophysics and nanotechnology. Furthermore, this state-of-the-art equipment will ensure that the nearly 90 young scientists and personnel will get high-quality training in modern microscopy techniques, allowing them to make major contributions to Canada's competitive academic and industrial sectors in biotechnology, nanotechnology and medicine.