Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

For many years, the NSERC-funded research programs of at least 13 PIs from the Université de Sherbrooke Biology, Chemistry and Biotechnological Engineering departments and their > 80 trainees and staff scientists have been considerably slowed down by the lack of a sensitive, versatile and high-throughput flow cytometer. Such an instrument is absolutely necessary for many molecular/cellular biology, microbiology, ecology and bioengineering research projects as it allows the rapid detection and quantification of multiple types of fluorophores used to characterize biological structures and processes occurring within mammalian cells and micro-organisms. Despite this critical importance, our cytometry platform is currently outfitted with an outdated and technically limited Accuri C6 Plus analyzer equipped with only 2 lasers and a sensitivity level, both in terms of fluorescence and particle sizes, well below that achieved by current systems. This means that we are unable to detect an important fraction of biological signals and have to make sub-optimal experimental designs to overcome the technical limitations of this obsolete apparatus. Since this instrument is the only analyzer available at our platform, it is heavily used and frequently breaks down, forcing us to run samples at the medical campus located far from the Science and Engineering Faculties. Acquisition of a sensitive, flexible, reliable and high-throughput 4-laser cytometer would speed up data acquisition dramatically via multi-color phenotyping, significantly reducing the amount of work and samples required to complete experiments. This equipment would allow UdeS researchers and their collaborators to use a wider array of fluorescent proteins and markers, thereby greatly enhancing the complexity of the biological questions that can be answered in a single run. Improved data collection quality, efficiency and throughput afforded by an updated =cytometer would undoubtedly increase publication outputs and success of all co-applicants and the many other users of our FACS platform in grant competitions. To solve these long-standing issues that impede the progress of our research in genome maintenance, organelle biology, plant-microbe interactions and tissue engineering and drug delivery technologies, we request funding to purchase a BD FACSymphony A1 flow cytometer. This system combines excellent sensitivity, small particle resolution and flexibility to simultaneously acquire up to 16 colors finally bringing our cytometry platform firmly into the 21st century. The FACSymphony A1 system would complement our current instrument base perfectly and provide us with state-of-the-art cytometry capabilities, effectively saving research funds/time/resources and boosting productivity. Acquisition of this system is essential for our research programs and will enable many new projects as well as contribute to the training of highly qualified personnel from several laboratories at UdeS.