Acquisition of a confocal laser scanning microscope for a Multi-User Microscopy Center at São Paulo State University

Abstract

Confocal laser scanning microscopy has become an extremely important tool in various areas of biology, medicine, and material sciences. The researchers at our Institute have acquired experience with this technique through collaborations, within Brazil and abroad. This has increased our interest in acquiring the necessary equipment for performing the technique in our multiuser laboratory, established with FAPESP resources a decade ago. The acquisition of a confocal laser scanning microscope for the Professor Celso Abbade Mourão MultiUser Microscopy Center, located on the São José do Rio Preto campus of UNESP, will benefit a number of FAPESPfunded research projects that are currently underway, or were recently concluded, in various areas of knowledge: reproductive cell biology (headed by Professors Sebastião Taboga and Clássius de Oliveira); inflammation biology (headed by Professor Sonia Oliani); cell biology and insect cytogenetics (headed by Professors Maria Tercilia V. A. Oliveira and Mary Itoyama); molecular biology and molecular cytogenetics of cancer (headed by Professor Ana Elizabete Silva); microscopy in food sciences (headed by Professor Célia Landi-Franco); histophysiology of diabetes and obesity (headed by Professors José R. Bosqueiro and Rejane Maira Góes); virology (headed by Professor Paula Rahal); and biodiversity (headed by Professors Orlando Nechi Jr., Luis H. Zanini Branco, and Nelson Bittencourt Jr.). All of these projects are dependent upon the Microscopy Center and will benefit considerably from the acquisition of the equipment requested. Because the assessment by confocal microscopy combines an important component to all research cited above, making it possible to employ immunocytochemical and topochemical techniques in the identification of specific markers, including their colocalization, which is extremely difficult to detect with conventional fluorescence microscopy. We emphasize that some of the researchers, including the General Coordinator, have published articles involving the use of confocal microscopy. (AU)