Image Analysis Facility Core
Dr. Robert Burghardt, Director
Overview:
The goal of the Image Analysis Facility Core is to work closely with Center investigators to acquire and integrate modern analytical cell/tissue imaging and probe technologies with applications relevant to the Center mission. Analytical instruments within this Facility Core provide some of the most sensitive approaches for analysis of cellular physiology and molecular mechanisms of toxicity. Image Analysis Facility Core personnel work with CERH investigators to exploit commercially available fluorescence probes and have also adapted inherently fluorescent molecules to quantitatively monitor numerous endpoints in living cells and/or tissues. The Specific Aims of this Facility Core are to provide instrumentation, routine services, training, and applications development for:
1. All aspects of specimen preparation and cytochemistry for both electron microscopy and optical microscopy.
2. Digital imaging, image processing and analysis using a variety of analytical microscopy and spectroscopy instruments.
3. Quantitative single and multiparameter steady-state analysis of vital fluorescence endpoints within living and/or stabilized cells and tissues in 2-, 3-, or 4-dimensions.
4. Quantitative single and multiparameter kinetic analysis of endpoints of cellular homeostasis mechanisms.
5. Laser capture microdissection for isolation of cellular material for a variety of DNA, RNA, and protein analyses, including mRNA and micro RNA expression analysis using microarrays.
Major analytical instrumentation includes: a) Zeiss LSM 510 META NLO Confocal/multiphoton Microscope; b) Bio-Rad Radiance2000MP Multiphoton Microscope; c) Veritas Microdissection System with UV laser cutting and laser capture microdissection; d) Meridian Ultima Confocal Microscope; e) Zeiss Stallion Dual Detector Imaging System; f) Olympus Live Cell Imaging Workstation; g) Zeiss Axioplan 2 Digital Imaging and Image Analysis Workstation; h) Bio-Tek Synergy Fluorescence/Absorbance/Luminescence Microplate Reader; i) Zeiss 10C Transmission Electron Microscope. The variety of instruments with different configurations support a comprehensive array of modern analytical microscopy applications for analysis of mechanisms of toxicity, cellular signaling and signal transduction, analysis of enzyme activity, quantification of metabolites, GFP and its engineered multicolor variants as reporters of gene expression and protein localization, protein-protein interactions by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), analysis of lipid and protein mobility in membranes and cell-cell communication by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), uptake, partitioning and metabolism of intrinsically fluorescent toxicants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, to name a few.
Contact:
Robert C. Burghardt, Ph.D.
Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
B.8E VMA, Mail Stop 4458
Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4458
USA Tel: (979) 862-4083Fax: (979) 847-8981
Email: rburghardt@cvm.tamu.edu