Biology Department Recipient of Equipment
The Biology Department at Pacific University receives a Modulus" Single Tube Luminomiter from <a href="http://www.turnerbiosystems.com">Turner BioSystems, Inc.</a>
Turner Biosystems, Inc., of Sunnydale, CA, has awarded Dr. Paige Baugher, Assistant Professor of Biology, a Modulus Single Tube Luminometer with fluorescence capabilities. This instrument will be an essential addition to Dr. Baugher's research and to a number of biology and chemistry laboratory classes. A luminometer is an instrument that measures photons of light, while the fluorescence attachments allow the quantification of fluorescence. Dr. Baugher plans to use this instrument to measure luciferase activity, a molecular gene reporter system that results in the generation of light. Numerous biological assays use this reporter system, and such assays are quite commonplace in the fields of cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. In our teaching laboratories, we plan to use this instrument to teach our students how to approach, design, and implement these assays.
Furthermore, this luminometer will be instrumental in Dr. Baugher's research. In collaboration with Drs. David Cordes and Jeannine Chan of the Chemistry Department, and Dr. Stacey Halpern of the Biology Department, Dr. Baugher is interested in investigating the anti-cancer properties of chemicals found within plants indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. Luminescence is one of the assays available to quantify the effectiveness of each specific plant compound against cancer cells. The use of this instrument will greatly advance the analysis of these compounds, and hopefully result in the discovery of new knowledge concerning the plants indigenous to the Pacific Northwest.
Posted by Brian Hess (hess4327@pacificu.edu) on Sep 28, 2009 at 2:24 PM
