A diverse group of 14 NIH funded investigators, within the Johns Hopkins Schools of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, and Public Health request funds to purchase a FEI Tecnai 12 BioTWIN transmission electron microscope (TEM). The requested TEM incorporates an objective lens configuration optimized for high contrast and is perfectly suited for our biological applications that include conventional thin section TEM; immunogold labeling of ultrathin cryosections; quantum dot; and biopolymer visualization. Importantly, this new state-of-the-art TEM will replace our well utilized near 30 year old Philips EM 410 TEM for which service (and parts) is becoming increasingly problematic; and future reliability a major concern with the system incurring extended downtimes during the previous year while parts are located to effect repair. Our investigators, all well funded through the NIH, work on a host of basic cell biological, biochemical, and biomolecular related questions including, though not limited to: HSV assembly and maturation; MHC I trafficking and assembly, membrane organization and dynamics; endosome/lysosome dynamics; membrane trafficking; trafficking of polymeric gene carriers; mitochondria and apoptosis; sialic acid display and cell adhesion; and mechanisms of endocytosis. The new Tecnai 12 will ensure that our disparate group of investigators have continued and uninterrupted access to a TEM optimized for biological applications. The Tecnai 12 will be conveniently located, administered, and maintained, in the Biology Department's newly renovated Integrated Imaging Center (IIC), a Homewood campus/Hopkins-wide microscopy resource that is utilized regularly by multiple schools and departments comprising >60 laboratories and ~200 users. It will be incorporated into the IIC's existing, well established recharge system to ensure recovery of funds for supplies and maintenance/service contracts. ? ? ?
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