The Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle (CHRMC) is a major pediatric research institution, with active and funded basic science and clinical and epidemiologic research projects. Among the laboratory-based research, there is a common technological motif or molecular analysis of electrophoretically separated proteins and nucleic acids. We propose the establishment of a molecular imaging facility at CHRMC to document, and to quantify, proteins, RNA, and DNA that are generated by various projects. This facility depends on the acquisition of a PhosphorImager, with computer analysis and image capture capabilities and software. The purchase of this system will increase the speed and accuracy with which we can generate, analyze, and archive data, and will also enable our laboratories to reduce wastage and the environmental impact of the presently employed x-ray film- based imaging systems.
