EMU: upgrade of gamma counter Wizard

• Grant number: 23/17290-3
• Support Opportunities: Research Infrastructure Program - Small Medium Sized
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Everardo Magalhães Carneiro
• Grantee: Everardo Magalhães Carneiro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Antonio Carlos Boschiero ; Helena Cristina de Lima Barbosa

Abstract

This is a proposal to upgrade the Wizard gamma counter equipment, used to detect gamma-type ionizing radiation. The gamma counter currently available at the Multiuser Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology (LMBCM) is obsolete and there is no possibility of repair if necessary, as parts for this model are no longer manufactured. Added to this is the fact that it is the only gamma counter at Unicamp and in the region, and has been used for decades by researchers from various institutions in the states of São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso. The use of radioactively labeled molecules in research has been carried out for decades and the possibility of using radionuclides in experimental protocols is vast. Despite the emergence of new methodologies that replace some of the experiments, their use is still definitive to answer various questions within research. One of the most frequently performed tests using the Wizard gamma counter is the measurement of hormones by radioimmunoassay, mainly insulin. This method is more sensitive than more recent ones as ELISA, Alphalisa or TR-FRET, and approximately 10x, 8x and 4x cheaper, respectively. Our laboratory is a reference in radioimmunoassay for insulin quantification, a method that requires the use of insulin labeled with iodine-125, a radionuclide that emits gamma ionizing radiation. In addition to the benefit in the development of scientific projects, the equipment upgrade will allow greater accuracy in obtaining and analyzing data and will increase the number of samples read at the same time by 5x, greatly reducing the exposure time of researchers working with radionuclides. The equipment offers the possibility of working with 45 radionuclides. (AU)