UV/Visible Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope

9216912 Lemasters This is a proposal for an UV/visible laser s,canning confocal microscope system. The microscope system consists of a UV/visible scanning imaging head with dual detectors, a scan control and imaging acquisition system, a Z-focus controller, argon and argonlkrypton lasers for illumination at 351-363, 440, 488, 568 and 647 nm, and an inverted fluorescence microscope. The microscope will be used to examine single living cells, fixed tissue and isolated perfused organs that have been labeled with multiple fluorescent probes. In living cells and tissues, confocal images of the parameter-specific fluorescence of each probe will be collected and stored during experi mental manipulations. UV capabilities are specifically sought in order to use UV fluorophores for imaging of ions, chromatin, and protein and non-protein thiols, and for use with caged compounds. The confocal microscope is also sought to relieve the critically high demand for a visible light (non-UV) confocal microscope already in place, whose high utilization curtails confocal instrument availability to all users. The equipment will be utilized by many investigators on independent projects in 8 departments of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Housed in the productive environment of the Video Microscopy Facility of the Laboratories for Cell Biology, the UV/visible laser scanning confocal microscope system will substantially extend our ongoing efforts applying digitized optical microscopy to problems of biology.