Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

We are requesting funds for a multimode microplate reader with integrated microscopy and imaging. Multimode plate readers have numerous and versatile applications, making them widely used and essential tools for many types of research. Recent advances in functionality have greatly expanded the range of measures and techniques that multimode microplate readers can perform. Due to this broad versatility, a multimode microplate reader is essential for numerous research applications in our research groups. For example, we require this instrument to examine the impact of gut microbes, diet and exercise on the immune system, for development of therapeutic gene-silencing strategies using siRNA, for environmental research examining roles of algae in aquatic ecosystems and biotransformation of environmental contaminants, for development of non-lethal strategies for environmental effects monitoring in the Great Lakes, and for analysis of cellular interactions necessary to examine the biocompatibility of engineered tissue scaffolds for bone and nervous tissue. At present, we are completely reliant on an obsolete plate reader for which parts are no longer available and repair is no longer supported. While we have completed recent repairs ourselves, it is evident that the microplate reader will soon be beyond repair, leaving us unable to perform numerous essential assays and measures that we conduct on a daily basis. This instrument is essential to maintain our research progress and to support research synergies in the highly collaborative Applied Bioscience research environment at Ontario Tech. Working with a current model multimode reader with imaging ability will provide marketable skills to post-doctoral trainees and to graduate and undergraduate students in varied techniques including an ever-increasing array of bioassays and biomarker quantification. This instrument is ideal for analysis of a wide range of cell types and organisms, from bacteria and algae to fish embryos and human cells, encompassing the research foci of our highly collaborative research programs. The multimode microplate reader with imaging will be used intensively, providing cutting edge opportunities for interdisciplinary hands-on training of highly competitive HQP with marketable skills to meet growing needs in Canada for expertise relevant for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and agri-food industries and in environmental monitoring.