Aarhus Universitet 311 19 103 Trøjborgvej 82-84 Aarhus C 8000 Lasse Krongaard +45 60202600 udbud@au.dk www.au.dk Two-photon Laser Microscope (2PLSM) Imaging Describe briefly the project. There is little dispute that synaptic plasticity is the foundation for learning and memory. For this reason, there has been an intense interest in understanding the signaling pathways underlying plasticity. However, until now these studies have been mostly performed in brain slice preparations. As valuable as this approach is, many stages in the life of a memory, such as its recall and loss must be monitored in behaving animals. To achieve this, we need a system with high spatial resolution down to the synaptic scale, where memories are formed and stored. The most promising approach is two-photon laser microscope (2PLSM) imaging in live animals, which allows monitoring the morphological changes that occur in synapses during various stages of memory formation and consolidation. 157000.00 The technical requirements. The equipment will be used by multiple labs, with each lab requiring specific and highly advanced features. For this reason, the system needs to be modular, and the users should know how to switch between each module. This requires that main users have fundamental understanding on how the system is built and with at least one person having in-depth expertise. More importantly as the projects evolve, new questions emerge and the technical demands increase. For this reason, we will need to continuously upgrade the system or even build a complete new one. As such, it is essential that we transfer the technology of building 2PLSM to Aarhus University. Knowing how to build the system is also a financially sound investment. INSS provides a list of required components, which we are responsible for purchasing from different vendors, where after INSS will assemble the microscope at Aarhus University in collaboration with a technically skilled scientist. As far as we are aware, no commercial vendor provides training for building 2PLSM. This is the reason we reached to INSS, as they were welcoming to engage any of one we choose during the whole process of, designing the system. The technical requirements for the laser. Femtosecond tunable lasers have made imaging from deep regions of a brain tissue possible. In multiphoton microscopy, these lasers allow to image a broad range of fluorescent proteins from regions as deep as 600-700 micrometers. Despite their power, the ultrafast lasers come with limitations that reduce their effectiveness. For instance, in multiphoton microscopy, which a fluorophore is excited through simultaneous absorption of two photons, caused by high-pick intensity of ultrafast pulses, the efficiency of the process is rarely optimised. The physic behind this phenomenon, known as group-velocity dispersion (GVD) is that the ultrafast pulses pass through optical elements of the microscope, they become broadened. As such, this reduces the desired imaging depth. InSight X3, a newly developed ultrafast laser by Spectra-Physics, has the property to avoid the problem of GVD. The technique, which is known as dispersion pre-compensation, achieves this by generates negative GVD by delaying long wavelengths compared to shorter ones. We looked at other suppliers of ultrafast lasers, but we did not find a vendor other than Spectra-Physics that provides this ability. 2017-12-21 INSS East Sussex 157000.00 Klagenævnet for udbud Dahlerups Pakhus — Langelinie Allé 17 København Ø 2100 +45 35291000 klfu@erst.dk https://erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/klagenaevnet-for-udbud Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen Carl Jacobsens Vej 35 Valby 2500 +45 4171500 kfst@kfst.dk 2017-12-21
See tender at TED: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:518866-2017:TEXT:EN:HTML