Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

A Liquid Scintillation Analyser is requested by six researchers from two separate faculties, with NSERC-funded research programs in biochemistry, animal physiology, and human health. The analyser is essential in supporting our research to 1) elucidate the regulation of energy storage and dissipation as part of whole-body homeostasis; 2) determine how nutrition regulates protein metabolism; 3) discover how aquatic invertebrates regulate their internal ion, water and nitrogen levels; 4) understand how the endocrine system mediates water and salt balance in fish; 5) elucidate the roles of circadian clocks in controlling the release of neurohormones; 6) determine the regulation a plant-expressed antiviral protein. A liquid scintillation analyser detects and quantifies energy emitted from radiolabelled molecules. The analyser has broad experimental applications relevant to our research, ranging from measurement of biomolecular interactions, such as enzyme and substrates, to integrative analyses of whole body processes. The high sensitivity of our chosen model is best suited to detection of low-level isotopes, typical of many biological samples. Its ability to measure different isotopes from a mixed sample is also ideal for metabolic tracer studies. This analyzer model is the best choice for our multi-user environment because of its large sample capacity and ability to queue samples from different research labs without interrupting the counting process. The accurate quantification of radiolabelled molecules is critical for the advancement of our research programs. Our work will provide new insight to develop treatments for metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes, to understand how suboptimal muscle metabolism contributes to chronic disease, to determine how aquatic invertebrates and fish adapt to environmental change, to understand the effects of circadian disruption on human health, and to improve strategies for crop resistance to viruses. In addition, the analyzer will enable graduate students, and other highly qualified personnel, to be trained in the safe use of radioisotopes in both academic and industrial research.