Genetic MicroSystems Inc. proposes the development of a new laser- scanning confocal fluorescence microscope which can take a single digital photograph of a 20 x 50 millimeter area of a microscope slide, at 1 micron resolution, in less than 20 minutes. No existing microscope approaches having this combination of field size, resolution, and speed. Such a microscope is needed for optical mapping, i.e., measuring the locations and spacings of breaks in DNA induced by restriction enzymes. This microscope will greatly expand the utility of optical mapping for highly parallel identification, mapping, and/or analysis of genes and genetic alterations involved in cancer. The microscope uses a very small lens which is scanned back and forth, at 100 scans per second, over a 20 mm wide portion of a microscope slide. it collects 5 million measurements of 0.5 mu m square pixels per second at each of three laser wavelengths. After each scan the slide moves 0.5 mu m perpendicular to the scanning direction. The scanning lens is essentially free of the aberrations and other limitations of conventional stationary lenses. Existing motorized microscopes require hours to do what the proposed microscope will do in less than 20 minutes.
This instrument is intended for optical mapping and other applications where combinations of large area, rapid epi-fluorescent viewing, and one micron resolution are needed. Lower resolution (10mu m) versions of this instrument will be developed for analysis of DNA microarrays and high density microplates. A transmission microscope version of this instrument (a prototype of which already exists) is intended for use in telepathology and rare event detection.
