Real-Time Cell Analyzer Equipped with Impedance and Imaging Detectors - PROPOSAL SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Real-Time Cell Analysis (RTCA) is a modern technique that enables scientists to detect both optical (imaging) and electronic (impedance) signals based on events taking place inside mammalian cells. Whereas commonly used endpoint techniques, including flow cytometry and cytotoxicity tetrazolium salt assays, only collect data for a specific time point, RTCA collects data across various time points. With the wide range of research applications of this technique, scientists across various fields can now figure out answers to many of their research questions that conventional endpoint assays cannot provide. Thus, RTCA can be seen as a revolutionary tool and a game-changer in biomedical research that is bound to have a high impact vis-à-vis improving public health. With this proposal, we seek to procure an RTCA system that will enable us to accomplish some of our short- term and long-term objectives. Our short-term objective upon procuring an RTCA system is to (i) incorporate the instrument into the learning objectives of two laboratory courses, (ii) develop a novel assay to study the activity of a subset of bacterial and plant toxins, (iii) investigate and optimize the use of gold nanoparticles as delivery systems as an approach to kill cancer cells, and (iv) investigate macrophages as a key target in glioblastoma multiform cancer. Our long-term objective, on the other hand, is to attract researchers from various fields within the School of Integrative Science and Technology at Kean University to become active users on the instrument. Broad access on the instrument will be made available to our researchers to conduct experiments related to their projects and/or to incorporate the instrument into the learning objectives of their laboratory courses. Overall, we hope to have access to many modern instruments that will stimulate the creativity and innovative spirit of our faculty and students to pursue their research questions in a manner hitherto unseen before that may eventually have a high impact on public health. Kean is a Resource-Limited Institution (RLI) serving a diverse population of students, and it is currently not equipped with many modern instruments such as RTCA systems. The lack of access to modern scientific equipments is one of the major barriers that RLI researchers face, which make finding answers to their questions far more challenging. As a result, we are seeking to procure an RTCA system that will enable our researchers to pursue their scientific quest, explore their research questions where they currently are unable to, and enhance the learning experience that we provide Kean students.
