This request is for partial funds to purchase a JEOL 6335E Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). This instrument will serve as only SEM within the Center for Biologic Imaging (CBI) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. The mandate of this core facility is to provide access to a full range of light and electron optical, image analysis, and morphometric methods to all research groups within the medical area. SEM is an essential service provided by the center. The current microscope within the facility is a 15 year old JEOL T300. Over the last several years it has become apparent to the steering committee of the CBI that this microscope is inadequate in terms of both reliability, resolution and flexibility. The specific technical concerns of users are that; the instrument is unreliable, it offers only the most limited resolution, no possibility exists to collect backscattered electron images, and no possibility for direct digital image collection and archive exist. Since the CBI commenced operations 8 years ago, it has become an integral part of the medical research community currently participating in research projects with more than 50 PHS funded groups within the medical area. Over the last few years field emission guns SEMs have become increasingly easy to align and maintain which has allowed their use within biomedical research to expand enormously, to include truly high resolution imaging of surfaces as well as the possibility of imaging specific surface labeling sites at high resolution. There is simply no possibility of performing this type of study anywhere on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh medical school, in fact the microscope within the CBI serves the needs of not only the medical school users but also federally funded users in Bioengineering, and Biological Sciences. The limitations of the current microscope leads to considerable frustration amongst users. The acquisition of the requested instrument, which offers all the principally requested features in a reasonably priced instrument is a critical component in the expansion of imaging technologies available to PHS supported users at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
