research facilities
facilities
Imaging Stations
Imaging and fluorescence microscopy has undergone a renaissance in the last decade.
The recent explosion in the diversity of available fluorescent proteins promises a wide variety
of new tools for biological imaging and allows systematic imaging studies of protein localization
in living cells and of the structure and function of living tissues.
The impact of these and other new imaging methods in biophysics, neuroscience, and developmental
and cell biology are and will be remarkable.
Further advances in fluorophore design, molecular biological tools will profoundly transform many
fields of biological research.
The Department of Pharmacological Sciences provides the following imaging facilities:
Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope (LSCM)\BioRad Radiance 2100
Equipment details:
- laser Ar multiline 457 - 514 nm, HeNe 543 nm and Red Diode 637 nm
- inverted microscope Nikon Eclipse TE2000-S with motorized z axis.
- Objectives: 40x S Fluor/NA 1.30 Oil, 60x PlanApo/NA 1.4 Oil, 100x PlanFluor/NA 1,30 Oil
Confocal microscopy offers several advantages over conventional optical microscopy,
including controllable depth of field, the elimination of image degrading out-of-focus
information, and the ability to collect serial optical sections from thick specimens.
In particular, LSCM is suitable for visualization of multilabelling specimens
(single-, double-, and triple-labeled fluorescent samples), specially for those dyes which lie
in the far red region.
Due to its high resolution both in lateral and axial directions, LSCM is the right choice for
3D reconstruction and colocalization analysis in both fixed and live samples.
Time Lapse Workstation
Equipment details:
- Zeiss Axiovert200M motorized inverted microscope with FluoArc illuminating system with 100W mercury lamp
- Objectives: 10X, 20X, 40X A-Plan LD DIC and 100X PlanNeoFluar Oil
- Camera: Axiocam Hrm
- Filters: Motorized filter wheel with Dapi, FITC, GFP, Rhodamine, bright field
- fully automated stage
- CO2-incubation chamber with multi-wells plate heating insert for analysis of living cells.
- PlasDIC objectives to apply Nomarski differential interference contrast to cells growing on plastic bottom
The Time Lapse Workstation allows to acquire images at fixed intervals within a given time period.
Continuous projection of the frames gives an accelerated view of the process allowing to evaluate the
dynamic of a sample (i.e. macrophage migration, vescicle transport).
Unit for bioluminescence reporter imaging
Berthold NightOwl
Optical imaging unit for small animals Peltier cooled charge-coupled device slow-scan camera
equipped with a 25 mmf/0.95 lens.
The unit comprise a Night Owl LB981 image processor that transfers images via video cable to a
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) frame grabber using the WinLight32 software;
this software is also used to merge photon emission from the animal body,
gray-scale and pseudocolor images.
Widefield microscopes for routine observation
-
Zeiss Axiovert200 inverted microscope : Widefield system for transmitted light with phase and Varel contrast
Objective: 5x A-PLAN PH0 NA 0.12, 10x A-PLAN PH1VAR NA 0.25, 20x LD A-PLAN PH1VAR1 NA 0.30, 20x LD ACHROPLAN NA 0.40 Korr, 32x LD A-PLAN PH1VAR1 NA 0.40, 32x LD ACHROPLAN NA 0.40
Camera: Axiocam Hrc -
Zeiss Axiovert100 inverted microscope with HBO 50W mercury lamp
Objective: 5x ACHROSTIGMAT NA 0.12, 10x ACHROSTIGMAT NA 0.25 PH1, 20x A-Plan LD NA 0.30 PH1, 32x ACHROSTIGMAT LD NA 0.40 PH1
Filters: FITC and Rhodamine -
Zeiss Axioskop upright microscope with HBO 50W mercury lamp
Objective: 2.5x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 0.075, 5x ACHROSTIGMAT NA 0.12, 10x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 0.30, 20x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 0.50 PH2, 40x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 0.75, 100x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 1.30 OIL Filters: Dapi, FITC and Rhodamine -
Zeiss Axioskop upright microscope
Objective: 20x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 0.50, 40x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA 0.75 PH2, 63x PLAN NEOFLUAR NA IRIS 0.70-1.25 OIL