Advanced Bioimaging of Living Tissues

The purpose of the project is to establish the Laboratory for Advanced Bioimaging of Living Tissues and to provide it with technology consisting of:
• an upright confocal microscope for direct observation in an aqueous medium
• a fast monochromator for multi-frequency excitation of fluorescence
 

The acquisition of the mentioned technology is a precondition for sustaining the competitiveness of the Institute of Experimental Medicine AS CR (IEM AS CR) and its partners on the international level. Furthermore, it increases the chance of obtaining new grant funding both from national and international sources.
 

By acquiring new technology the IEM AS CR is able to maintain its technological background on a level comparable to other similar research institutions in the world and to establish a new specialised facility focused on researching selected aspects of the incidence and progress of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular accidents) as well as the complications associated with posttraumatic states (brain and spinal cord injuries, posttraumatic edema, epilepsy) via advanced imaging methods.
 

From 2010 to 2011, experiments planned within the scope of the research projects carried out at the IEM AS CR used the current inverted confocal microscope. Test results were clear: the setting of an inverted microscope is utterly unsuitable for the planned measurement of tissue sections in a medium of which the composition is manipulated during the experiment. The experiments were postponed as they are momentarily impracticable.

Progress and Current Status of the Project Implementation
During January and February 2014, documentation was prepared for the public tender for the supply of the necessary technologies, i.e.: the confocal microscope and the monochromator. The public tender was divided into two parts. The tender documentation was available on the website of the Operational Programme Prague – Competitiveness (OPPC) and in the on-line journal of public tenders. The documents were published on the website of the OPPC on Friday, 21st February 2014. The opening of envelopes took place on Monday, 14th April 2014 at 1.00 p.m. in the building of the IEM AS CR. In the first part of the public tender the offer submitted by Olympus Czech Group, s.r.o. was chosen as the winning bid. The purchase contract was signed on 19th May 2014.
 

The second part of the public tender had to be cancelled, as only one offer had been submitted. It was therefore necessary to arrange the second part of the public tender again. The tender documentation of the repeated public tender was published on the website of the OPPC on Friday, 2nd May 2014. The opening of envelopes took place on Tuesday, 24th June 2014 at 1.00 p.m. in the building of the IEM AS CR. The offer submitted by Carl Zeiss spol. s r.o. was selected as the winning bid and the purchase contract was signed on 21st July 2014. Both devices are to be delivered during August 2014.