Kathryn Morton, MD, and John Hoffman, MD, share a research laboratory which is the primary molecular and cellular basic research resource for the Molecular Imaging Program and the Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research (UCAIR). The lab is located in the Center for Advanced Medical Technologies (CAMT) in Research Park at the University of Utah (approximately five minutes by car or frequent campus shuttle from the University of Utah Medical Center ). Most of the Department of Radiology physicists, engineers, and students are located at CAMT. The site has a variety of both clinical and research imaging resources.
The lab consists of 1980 square feet of space containing a suite of rooms that include the following:
- Five chemical fume hoods
- Dark room
- Animal manipulation room
- Tissue culture room
- Storage space
- Two offices
Resources within the molecular and cellular biology lab include the following:
- FluoroChem 9900 Imaging System (for digital quantification of fluorescence or chemoluminescence in gels)
- High-end gradient HPLC system designed for radiochemistry work (flow-through radiation detector, diode array, light scattering)
- UV-VIS scanning spectrophotometer
- Two CO-2 incubators
- Laminar flow hood
- Five vented fume hoods
- Level 2 biological safety cabinet
- Phase contrast microscope
- Inverted microscope with fluorescence
- -80oC electric freezer and two -200C freezers
- Bench space for at least 10 individuals to work simultaneously
- Shaking water bath
- Vacuum
- Air
- Table model refrigerated centrifuge and floor model high-speed and ultra-centrifuges
- Microfuges and several high-speed microcentrifuges
- Several analytical balances
- Five standard sinks
- Deionized HPLC-grade water system
- Several recirculating water baths
- Microwave oven
- Two table-top shakers and a large-volume air shaker
- Hybridization oven
- Ultraviolet cabinet for cross-linking nucleic acids to membranes
- Homogenizer
- Sonicator
- Several fraction collectors
- Several peristaltic pumps
- Several magnetic stirrers/hot plates
- Many analytical pipettors
- Units for both horizontal and vertical gel electrophoresis (both 1D and 2-D)
- Several power supplies
- Electrophoretic and vacuum transfer units
- Small flourimeter for DNA quantification
- Unit for TCA precipitation of proteins
- Chromatography columns with stands
- Spectrophotometric microtiter plate reader
- Autoclave
- Convection oven
- Radioisotope dose calibrator
- Electroporation device
- PCR unit
- Speedvac
- Gel-dryer
- Bacteriological incubator
- Glassware
- Miscellaneous laboratory supplies and shields for radiation protection
Recent additions to the lab include the BAS 5000 system, a cryomicrotome, a dissecting microscope, a mouse/rat anesthesia system, an arterial blood gas analyzer, and a system to assure mice and rats are kept warm during various surgical procedures. Each of the individuals in the Hoffman/Morton lab has a high-end computer, with a shared photo-quality color printer and digital scanner, as well as full software support for molecular biology, genetic, statistical, and image manipulation applications. The 7T Brukker small animal MRI, INVEON micro-PET/SPECT/CT, and FMT 2500 fluroescence system are located in the Emma Eccles Jones Building near the laboratory.
The molecular imaging laboratory at Huntsman Cancer Institute has a Microm HM560 CryoStar for specimen preparation. This cryomicrotome is an electronic, motorized cryostat with retraction that incorporates a unique refrigeration system for independent specimen and knife cooling.
Other features include the following:
- Separate knife temperature control to -35°C
- Object temperature separately controlled to -50°C
- Integrated Peltier to -60°C
- Section thickness from 0.5 to 100µm
- Automatic Cryo Approach (ACA) system for exact and safe approach of specimen toward the knife
- Automatic cutting window
For more information view website.
BAS-5000 IMAGE ANALYSIS SYSTEM
The Molecular Imaging Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute has a Fuji BAS-5000 Phosphor imager. This device offers extremely high resolution (25 ?m) and image quality. It uses Fujifilm's unique confocal laser and light-collecting optics. The BAS-5000 is amenable to fine-structure studies of a wide variety of tissue samples. With a dynamic range up to five orders of magnitude and a pixel size as small as 25 ?m, the system allows for very high-resolution quantitative autoradiography studies.
The system can provide rapid scan times. A 20 x 25 cm Imaging Plate can be scanned at 50 ?m in as little as five minutes. It includes software for region of interest (ROI) analysis and quantitative assessment of tracer accumulation. The system can image all PET isotopes as well as C-14 and tritium. It also has the capabilities to perform various optical based assays, including 2D electrophoresis and thin layer chromatography.
For more information visit the Fujifilm website.
