Saturday, May 11, 2024
5/11/2024
Project Summary/Abstract The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) is requesting a Zeiss LSM900 laser scanning confocal microscope. This instrument will replace an obsolete Zeiss LSM710 microscope installed in 2009, which is no longer supported by the manufacturer, and is at risk of failing. If that system were to fail, its current usage levels could not be fully accommodated on equivalent instrumentation at UNC-CH, jeopardizing multiple NIH-funded research projects. The Zeiss LSM900 is a modern, reliable instrument that has the necessary capabilities to support projects in the laboratories in this submission’s User Group. This Group consists of 21 laboratories, arrayed in 11 Departments across two Schools (Medicine, Arts and Sciences), with over $30,300,000 in active NIH funding. All these laboratories are associated with the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and conduct research whose discoveries can benefit public health. This laser scanning confocal microscope will allow researchers to easily obtain images of biological specimens with high contrast, by removing out-of-focus light using a confocal pinhole. The Zeiss LSM900 model is the best option for the User Group given its demonstrated capabilities, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and the extensive experience of the User Group and core facility staff with its software and hardware, all of which are documented in detail in this submission. The microscope will be outfitted with the following optional components: a motorized stage, a transmitted light detector, and three sensitive GaAsP detectors. These components are essential to meet the needs of the User Group. The University is requesting $261,741 in Federal Funds, which it will supplement with $63,181 from internal sources to extend the warranty upon purchase to the maximal amount allowable by the manufacturer (5 years). This microscope will be placed in the Microscopy Services Laboratory, a recharge core facility with a 30+ year history supporting the microscopy needs of the UNC-CH community. The core is strongly supported by the University, has personnel with demonstrated expertise in the type of instrument being requested, a strong track record training and assisting researchers, and a large, broad, and active user base of more than a hundred labs and several hundred researchers. We expect this instrument will rapidly become an essential component of the shared microscopy infrastructure at UNC-CH that will catalyze major discoveries across multiple subject areas.
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