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

Researchers at Concordia University rely upon a single confocal microscope for high resolution microscopy of biological samples. This microscope, a Leica TCS SP2 purchased in February 2000, cannot handle some commonly used fluorophores such as wild type green fluorescent protein and enhanced yellow fluorescent protein. In its present configuration this microscope cannot meet the needs of the faculty, especially for multifluorophore labeling with three colours or more, and is thus greatly slowing down productivity. Finally, the outdated CPU controlling the system has become a bottleneck for most basic data processing applications, particulary for 3-D reconstruction, animation and volume reconstruction. The proposed upgrades will allow for additional cell biological experiments, not currently practical, to be performed and will enhance the overall infrastructure at the university, facilitating the needs of the current faculty and making the university a more attractive option for recruiting world-class faculty in the future.