Project Grant S10GM164781

GEL IMAGER - PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT TO SUPPORT OUR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL GOALS, WE REQUEST FUNDS TO PURCHASE A BIO-RAD CHEMIDOC MP GEL IMAGING SYSTEM. OUR CURRENT GEL IMAGER IS NEARLY 20 YEARS OLD AND IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED BY THE MANUFACTURER, LEAVING US WITHOUT ACCESS TO REPLACEMENT PARTS OR SOFTWARE UPDATES. IN ADDITION TO THIS LACK OF VENDOR SUPPORT, THE SYSTEM IS LIMITED TO COLORIMETRIC DETECTION OF PROTEINS AND NUCLEIC ACIDS, WHICH LACKS THE SENSITIVITY REQUIRED FOR OUR RESEARCH AND TEACHING NEEDS. WITH ADDED CHEMILUMINESCENT AND FLORESCENT CAPACITY, A NEW GEL IMAGER WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE RESEARCH EFFORTS OF THREE MAJOR USERS AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO (SACRAMENTO STATE): DRS. MONICA GONZALEZ, LINDA ROBERTS, AND JOHANNES BAUER BY ENABLING MORE SENSITIVE ANALYTE DETECTION. DR. GONZALEZ'S LAB INVESTIGATES ALTERED PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN PRIMARY NEURONS FOLLOWING PESTICIDE EXPOSURE, WHILE DRS. ROBERTS AND BAUER FOCUS ON PROTEIN PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION RELATED TO CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH AND AGING. ALL THREE LABS RELY ON HIGH-SENSITIVITY GEL IMAGING TO ANALYZE AND CHARACTERIZE PROTEINS CENTRAL TO THEIR RESEARCH. THE INSTRUMENT WILL ALSO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING IN UPPER-DIVISION BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY COURSES. IN CHEM 162 GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY, STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN A COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (CURE) INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES ON COLLAGEN III EXPRESSION IN FIBROBLASTS. IN CHEM 164 ADVANCED BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY, STUDENTS ENGAGE IN SEMESTER- LONG RESEARCH PROJECTS BASED ON FACULTY EXPERTISE, LEARNING ESSENTIAL BIOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES SUCH AS ENZYME KINETICS, CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATIONS, WESTERN BLOTTING, AND BIOINFORMATICS. IN ADDITION TO WORK IN THE MAJOR USER'S LABS, THE GEL IMAGER WILL ALLOW STUDENTS TO ANALYZE AND CHARACTERIZE PURIFIED PROTEINS RELEVANT TO THEIR PROJECTS, CULMINATING IN A DEPARTMENT-HOSTED POSTER SESSION TO PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER. THE CHEMIDOC MP IS ALSO FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH BIO-RAD'S STAIN-FREE TECHNOLOGY, WHICH ENABLES FLUORESCENT PROTEIN DETECTION IN SPECIALIZED GELS FOLLOWING BRIEF PHOTOACTIVATION, IMPROVE WORKFLOW EFFICIENCY. WE SELECTED THE CHEMIDOC MP FOR ITS COMPREHENSIVE DETECTION CAPABILITIES, STAIN-FREE COMPATIBILITY, AND REPUTATION AS AN INDUSTRY-LEADING SYSTEM. BY INTEGRATING THIS INSTRUMENT INTO OUR RESEARCH AND TEACHING ENVIRONMENTS, WE WILL EQUIP STUDENTS WITH ESSENTIAL LABORATORY SKILLS AND BETTER PREPARE THEM FOR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS.