Forsyth Mineralized Tissue Analysis Core
| Core Summary: |
Characterization of mineralized tissues, natural or synthetic, is a challenging task, since these materials are comprised of organic and mineral constituents, each with strikingly different physical and chemical properties. The function of the Forsyth Mineralized Tissue Analysis (MTA) Core is to provide a comprehensive structural, physical, and chemical analysis of wild type, mutant and engineered mineralized tissues, including teeth (enamel, dentin, cementum), cartilage and bone. The strengths of the MTA Core include a unique combination of specialized instrumentation, techniques, and expertise based on more than 30 years of experience in this field.
| Categories and Institutions: |
|
|
| Facilities and Equipment: |
Major Equipment:
- Atomic force microscope (Nanoscope III)
- FTIR and microscope
- FTIR Spectrum One Spectrometer and Multiscope microscope (Perkin-Elmer)
- HP Faxitron
- IQ Base image storage and image sharing
- JEOL 1200EX TEM
- JEOL 6400 SEM
- Leica DMLS light microscope with Leica DC100 digital camera
- Leica DMRE light microscope (shares the AxioCam Camera)
- Leica LSAMD Laser Capture Microscope
- Leica TCS SP2 confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) with AOBS
- Lunar Piximus
- Microhardness Testing Machine M-400-H1 Leco
- Powertome ultramicrotome and a Lynx Tissue Processor
- Rotaflex 200B XRD diffractometer (Rigaku)
- Silverstone-Taylor Hard Tissue Microtome for thin-section preparation and a Buhler Polishing machine
- Zeiss Stemsi SV11 w ith florescence and AxioCam HRC digital camera
| Services: |
- Characterization of synthetic materials, products of in vitro assembly and mineralization, and tissue engineered constructs
To obtain information on the properties of engineered dental tissues in in vitro experiments, a number of analytical techniques are applied. These include: TEM, ED, FTIR spectroscopy and Microscopy; Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS); Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM); X-ray Diffractometry; and EnergyDispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) on the SEM. To obtain information on the biological, compositional, structural and mechanical properties of tissue engineered constructs, analytical techniques include histology, CLSM, immunolabeling, SEM, TEM, FTIR microspectroscopy, microhardness testing and nanoindentation.
- Databases of normal and mutant erupted and forming teeth
We have an extensive, multi-modality database of erupted teeth of mice, rats, pigs, monkeys, and humans. This includes light microscopic images of sectioned teeth and SEM micrographs of fractured or sectioned and etched teeth. We have a database of forming mouse, rat, pig, and monkey teeth including light microscopy of H&E sections, and immunohistochemistry of tooth matrix proteins, cytoskeleton, and adhesion molecules. Additionally, we have a library of TEM images of forming monkey, pig, mouse, and rat teeth (normal and fluorosed), as well as a database of mutant mice teeth (forming and erupted) which includes knockouts of enamelysin (MMP-20), amelogenin, beta catenin (conditional), APC, and p120ctn: and a TGF-β1 knock-in. We also maintain a database of compositional properties of normal and mutant dental tissues, based on Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopy and microspectroscopy, and their mechanical properties. These databases provide an important reference of normal tooth development and a library of essential protein expression during mineralized tissue formation.
- Phenotypic and mechanical property analysis of mineralized tissues
We provide comprehensive analysis of mineralized tissues of mutant and transgenic animals in the Mineralized Tissue Analysis Core (MTA). We have developed a comprehensive, standardized approach to the phenotypic characterization of mutant/transgenic mineralized tissues. These analyses include: (1) Microradiography (Faxitron): (2) Structural analysis (histology (paraffin and frozen), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), CLSM, immunolabeling, chemical/mineralogical (FTIR), microspectroscopy, XRD, Electron Diffraction (ED), high resolution soft X-ray contact microradiography); and (3) Mechanical (micro- and nano-hardness testing).
| Getting Started: |
Please contact Dr. Ziedonis Skobe at 617-892-8381 or by email for further information, or consultation to determine the most appropriate methodologies and analyses for a given experimental problem.
| Departmental Web Link: |
http://www.forsyth.org/research/services.html