Central Support Units for Biomedical Research

Advanced Optical Microscopy

The Advanced Optical Microscopy Unit of IMIBIC offers IMIBIC researchers and both public and private institutions access to equipment covering a broad spectrum of applications and techniques used in biomedical research.

The aim of the service is to provide comprehensive support to researchers as well as to provide scientific and technical advice and support on experimental design, sample preparation, image processing-analysis and data interpretation.

The Advanced Optical Microscopy unit has a Quality Management System in accordance with the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Standard.

Personnel

Equipment and facilities

LSM 710 Spectral Confocal Microscope (Carl Zeiss)

Confocal microscopy has the ability to control depth of field, elimination or reduction of background information away from the focal plane, which increases images resolution and contrast, and the capability to collect serial optical sections from thick specimens, which can be processed to produce a 3D view of the specimen.

• Stand: Axio Observer.Z1 motorized inverted microscope. Illumination: brightfield, differential interference contrast (DIC) and epifluorescence.
  
• Excitation lasers: Ar laser (458, 488, 514 nm), HeNe laser (543 nm), HeNe laser (594 nm), HeNe laser (633 nm) and diode laser (405 nm).
  
• Detection: 3 spectral fluorescence detection channels with PMTs and 1 transmitted light channel with PMT (DIC-capable).
  
• Integrated large incubation chamber.
  
• FLUORESCENCE FILTER COMBINATIONS:
  

OBJECTIVES:

Fluorescence microscope THUNDER IMAGER 3D ASSAY

• Motorized DMi8 inverted microscope.
  
• LAS X Software with THUNDER Computational Clearing It detects and removes the out-of-focus image background for each image, making the signal of interest directly accessible. At the same time, in the in-focus area, edges, and intensity of the specimen features remain.
  
• Fluorescence Light Source: with 5 solid-state LEDs. Spectral output: 390 and 680 nm.
  
• LEICA CAMERA: High sensitivity K5 monochromatic camera. 2048x2048 pixel B/W sCMOS sensor, pixel size 6.5 microns.
  
• FLUORESCENCE FILTER COMBINATIONS:
  

OBJECTIVES:

ZEISS PALM MicroBeam - Laser Microdissection

Laser Microdissection is the contamination-free method for separating and collecting cells of interest out of tissue samples or cell cultures.

Laser ZEISS PALM Microbeam uses a focused laser beam to cut out and isolate your selected specimen without contact. The patented laser catapult isolates your target area fast and uncontaminated. Objectives with a high numerical aperture bundle the energy so precisely that they work to an accuracy of well under a micrometer. You even manipulate down to the subcellular level, without involving neighboring tissue.

The laser pulse of PALM Microbeam only affects your specimen for approximately one nanosecond. In this short time heat transfer to adjacent tissue is negligible, ensuring gentle isolation that also allows for live cell recultivation.

• Suitable for: fresh and fixed histological samples, cell culture (living cell), cytospin, biofilms, forensic material etc. The incubation systems create the optimal environment for the most sensitive living specimens.
  
• Laser Microdissection: one excitation laser line (355nm) fully motorized, with high precision cutting and catapulting, and “cap check” system. Transmitted light techniques (brightfield, phase contrast).
  
• Control software laser microdissection: PALM RoboSoftware.
  
• Image processing and analysis software: Axiovision 4.9.1 and Zen Blue 3.4.
  
• Axiocam series: color Axiocam 305 camera and monochromatic Axiocam 305 camera.
  
• FLUORESCENCE FILTER COMBINATIONS:
  

OBJECTIVES:

Fluorescence microscope Axio Vert.A1 (Carl Zeiss).

• Inverted fluorescence microscope Illumination: brightfield and epifluorescence.
  
• AxioCam ICm1-1.4 Mpx monochrome CCD camera.
  
• ZEN 2 software (Zeiss) for image acquisition and analysis.
  
• FLUORESCENCE FILTER COMBINATIONS:
  

OBJECTIVES:

Light Microscope Leica DM2000 LED

• Upright microscope with LED transmitted light illumination.
  
• Digital camera color HD.
  

OBJETIVES:

Light Microscope NikonEclipse Ti-S

• NikonEclipse Ti-S inverted microscope.
• Illumination: brightfield and phase contrast.

OBJECTIVES:

3D WorkStation

3D workstation is a powerful tool for 3D image analysis and processing for large data sets. This workstation has an AIVIA CellBio software package. AIVIA software CellBio is a innovative and complete 2-to-5D image visualization, analysis and interpretation platform designed for the reliable processing and reconstruction of highly complex images.

Softwares: FIJI, LAS X, Zen Blue, QuPath.

Services

• Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.
• Automated Widefield Microscopy.
• High content screening.
• Live 3D imaging.
• On-line computational clearing.
• Laser cutting.
• Spectral imaging and linear unmixing.
• Image processing and analysis.