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

This proposal requests equipment that will upgrade an outdated original digital imaging system for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The resolution of our current camera is only slightly higher than 1000 mega pixels, extremely low resolution by today's standards. This camera is either unsuitable or only marginally suitable for capturing fine details of viruses, bacteriophages, substructures of flagella, ultra-small immuno-gold particles and nano-tubes, the research material of our groups. The new equipment will improve speed of specimen survey and image capture and will vastly improve ease of use and training by our graduate students. The Advanced Microscopy Facility in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta is intensively used by members of this department as well as by faculty and students from the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Chemistry and Materials Science, and from Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences. The proposed new camera will have a high resolution (11 mega pixels) and still practically real time survey speed. Fiber-optic rather than lens coupling will mean next-to-no loss of illumination so that specimens are not 'burned' by unnecessary beam intensity, especially during surveying. We will be able to obtain better quality images in a shorter time.  This will reduce time spent on viewing specimens and associated operating costs.