|
|
|
|
UTSA Acquires High-Powered Transmission Electron Microscope Many students, faculty and researchers in the Division of Life Sciences and the Cajal Neuroscience Research Center (CNRC) already know the acronym stands for a state-of-the art, research-grade transmission electron microscope (TEM), a Japanese Electronic Optical Laboratories Model No. 1230. Purchased through grants to the CNRC and installed in the College of Sciences last September, this sophisticated instrument allows researchers to examine biological tissues, biochemicals and material samples. The microscope achieves magnifications up to 400,000 times, permitting intensive investigations into structures as small as a single crystal of gold. Microscopic images are either digitally captured or photographed. Collected images can then be processed for analysis and quantification using a diverse array of analytical software. Final results can be printed or sent directly to desktop-publishing software or archived for future publication or reporting. "No other electron microscope in San Antonio or Texas can match its capabilities," according to Allen Angel, supervisor of the Life Sciences TEM Facility. In fact, only four more of the Japanese-made instruments are currently in use in North America--at Rutgers University, Western Michigan University, the University of California at San Diego and in Toronto, Canada. "This instrument will facilitate on-going and future studies of nervous system development, learning and memory, control of movement and future interactions with UTHSCSA and local biotechnology companies," Allen said. "Students and investigators who use the TEM Facility and its cadre of imaging and microscopic technologies will have a competitive advantage nationwide," he added. The instrumentation can address a multitude of research questions, and the knowledge has application in many different fields and disciplines." Faculty member Richard LeBaron has used the JEOL TEM for various projects and experiments. "Indeed, we have generated more data in the past several months than we had achieved for the past five years with other transmission electron microscopes," said LeBaron. "We have made some very interesting observations that will help us understand how tissues are formed during development and how they undergo remodeling during repair," LeBaron added. LeBaron and Life Sciences Division Director Joe L. Martinez Jr. have also used the JEOL to meet the objectives of a grant awarded to them by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a component of the National Institutes of Health. Another faculty member, computational neurobiologist Charles Wilson, is using the JEOL to study individual neurons in the brain to gain a greater understanding of how they function. Wilson was recently named director of the Life Sciences TEM Facility. The JEOL TEM replaces Life Sciences' 35-year old electron microscope, which was rarely used because of its age and the lack of personnel. Support for the JEOL is covered by grants to the CNRC and UTSA's Minority Biomedical Research Support grant from the National Institutes of Health. "This single piece of equipment is one of the building blocks on which UTSA can expand its research program in the quest for flagship status," Angel added. The JEOL 1230 and Life Sciences' TEM Facility are located in Science Building Room 1.01.30. Send
your comments and items to: UTSAToday@utsa.edu.
|
Just
what is a JEOL 1230, anyway?