A diverse user-group of 10 NIH funded investigators, within the Department of Biology at The Johns Hopkins University, request funds to purchase an Amersham 9410 Typhoon Variable Mode Imager to replace an outmoded 1993 Molecular Dynamics SF Model 455, which has been the primary workhorse for the department since 1993. This state of- the-art Typhoon phosophorimager will replace and constitute a significant upgrade from our older SF 455 system in terms of capabilities and, most importantly, reliability. Department investigators, all well funded through the NIH, work on a host of basic cell biological/biochemical related questions including, though not limited to, calcium signaling in yeast; helicases and bacterial conjugation, regulation of transcription and DNA binding by proteins, glycose phosphotransferase system, membrane organization and dynamics; microtubule-based motors; membrane trafficking; germ cell development and migration; sensory neuron development; and mechanisms of endocytosis. In the requested configuration, the 9410 phosophorimager will afford our disparate group of investigators a broad range of basic/advance capabilities for imaging/quantifying gel sandwiches, full-sized agarose and polyacrylamide gels, membranes, microplates, and microarrays. These capabilities required by our investigators are absent or deficient on our current SF 455 system, a limited format system. ? ? An even more critical concern in this submission pertains to the age-related unreliability of our older SF 455 system; and that Amersham has discontinued supplying service/parts to maintain the system in competent working condition. Particular worrisome is that the MD 455 design incorporates a unique, un-replacable integral computer design for which parts have been progressively more difficult to acquire, reinforcing our concern that in the near future the system will become un-repairable leaving us with no system. An additional major consideration relates to the rather costly/messy maintenance of the film processor and safe handling/disposal of photographic chemicals. Consequently, given the essential nature of gels/blots to our basic biological/biochemical research and the evolving use of microarray analysis in genomics/proteomics by department investigators; coupled with escalating concerns pertaining to reliability and performance limitations of our current system; we are seeking to upgrade our common-use facilities with the addition of the 9410 variable mode imager. ? ? The Typhoon 9410 will be conveniently located, administered, and maintained, in the Department's Integrated Imaging Center (IIC); and it will be incorporated into the IIC's existing, well established recharge system to ensure recovery of funds for supplies and maintenance. ? ?
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