Features include:

• Five lasers capable of providing a total of 7 excitation wavelengths – 405 (UV range dyes), 458, 488, 514, 594 (tunable Argon for blue dyes), 561 (for red dyes), and 633nm (for far red dyes) 
• Highly sensitive 32-channel GaAsP spectral detector flanked by two standard PMTs for confocal imaging of slides or dipping preparations. This next generation detector allows use of lower laser powers, protecting samples from photo toxicity or photobleaching. 
• Airyscan GaAsP detector for Super Resolution imaging in 3 colors, and Airyscan Fast imaging (4x faster than standard imaging for fast events)
• Zen Offline workstation (Smith M078 annex) for processing of images, stitching, 3D rendering, FRAP and FRET analysis of .LSM and .CZI format images.

Zeiss Lenses available for use with mounted slide preps up to 100um thick:

Zeiss dipping lenses available for live cells, zebra fish, any imaging requiring top down approach into buffer or culture media:

Use of the LSM 880 requires an application form.

Features include:

• Five lasers capable of providing a total of 7 excitation wavelengths – 405 (UV range dyes), 458, 488, 514, 594 (tunable Argon for blue dyes), 561 (for red dyes), and 633nm (for far red dyes)
• 32-channel spectral detector flanked by two standard PMTs for confocal imaging of slides, cultured samples or dipping preparations
• Coherent Chameleon Ultra Vision II multiphoton laser and Non-Liner Optics capability (2 Photon and Second Harmonic Generation (SHG))
• A dual channel GaAsP (BiG) detector for non-linear optics (NLO) imaging. Available filter cubes include:
  • Blue/green (SP 470 and BP 500-550) and green/red (BP 500-550 and BP 575-610) cubes for 2 channel, 2 photon imaging of transgenic fluorescent protein markers such as eGFP, eCFP, etc and traditional fluorescent stains such as DAPI and fluorescently labelled secondary antibodies 
  • A custom cube (BP 390-410 and BP 470-550) for capturing optimal SHG signal and 2 photon emission of intrinsic fluorophores such as NAD(P)H, elastin, retinal and riboflavin at 800nm excitation
• LSM Tech objective inverter for samples requiring imaging via dipping lenses
• Environmental chamber with temperature, humidity, N2 and O2 control
• Zen Offline workstation (Smith M078 annex) for processing of images, stitching, 3D rendering, FRAP and FRET analysis of .LSM and .CZI format images.

Zeiss standard lenses available for use with slides or coverglass bottomed culture dishes

Zeiss dipping lenses available for live cells or zebra fish imaging requiring top down imaging, optimized for multiphoton and SHG imaging

Use of the LSM 710 requires an application form.

Features include:

• Three lasers capable of providing a total of 7 excitation wavelengths – 405 (UV range dyes), 458, 477, 488, 514, (tunable Argon for blue dyes), 543 (for red dyes), and 633nm (for far red dyes) 
• 2 PMTs (photomultiplier tubes) and 1 Meta detector, a polychromatic detector, which can also be used as third PMT.
• Upgraded to include fully motorized stage for tiling applications

Objectives include:

Zen Offline workstation (Smith M078 annex) for processing of images, stitching, 3D rendering, FRAP and FRET analysis of .LSM and .CZI format images. 

Use of the LSM 510 requires an application form.

The program is capable of deconvolution and processing of large image stacks into 3D images as well as following change in shape over time (4D). Dr. Malia Edwards provides training and supervises these workstations.

Features include:  

• 120kV accelerating voltage 
• AMT 8K digital CCD side mount camera for wide field of view and rapid image observation and AMT 2K bottom mount Digital CCD camera for high resolution image capture 
• 3 specimen holder
• Auto-preirradiation (ASPIS) to preheat specimens to reduce drift.
• ImageJ freeware has a plug in module that allows the software to read header information encoded in the AMT Tiff files for automatic calibration of pixel data.  

Use of the TEM requires an application form.

Features include:

• Ultracut S is suitable for thick sections, Ultracut UC7 is dedicated to Ultrathin sectioning.
• Ultramicrotomes are located in a 10x 10 room and each is located on an airtable.
• Users of the histology suite must bring their own tools/supplies such as slide folders, razor blades, canned air, stains, etc.

Use of the Ultramicrotomes requires an application form.

The Microm HM500 M includes a motorized drive and uses a steel knife blade which is advantageous for large and stiffer samples. Users must provide their own steel cryo knives (See the MICF staff for recommendations on the size and profile of knives to purchase. They can also suggest resharpening services). 

The Leica CM3050 S includes as a standard feature, a sectioning motor, ensuring fatigue-free ribbon sectioning. With the reverse section counter a preselected number of sections can be carried out in both sectioning and trimming mode. Section thickness totalizer and counter with reset button facilitates target preparation promoting fast trimming between levels.

The Leica Cryostat uses disposable blades which are ideal for high throughput users cutting small samples.

For training on the Microm, please see Rhonda Grebe; for training on the Leica, please see Stacey Cole.

Features include:

This instrument has made FACS work much easier by using disposable flow cells and an automated cell loading and flow alignment system, thus it is possible to perform sophisticated sorting without a dedicated operator. 

The system is supervised by Dr. Berlinicke, but with a half day of training, a number of other users have been able to successfully utilize the system for sorting for proteomic and genomic analysis, and subsequent cell culture.

The Cellomics ArrayScan VTi (Thermo Fisher Scientific) is a robotic, fluorescence-based, imaging system. It contains Zeiss microscope optics and a Hamamatsu ORCA-ER cooled 12 bit grayscale CCD Camera. 

It automatically acquires multiple images per well from most standard microwell plates and microscope slides. These images are stored on a Dell 20-terabyte server and analyzed with custom algorithms that are created using various Cellomics image-analysis software packages (Bioapplications). Among the eighteen Bioapplications that we have are Neuronal Profiling, Cell Cycle, Cell Health Profiling, Cell Motility, Compartmental Analysis, Spot Detector, and Morphology Explorer. 

With the diverse repertoire of algorithms available, we can quantify almost any cellular phenotype. The data obtained by these analyses is fully integrated into a complete data management system (Store). In addition to the scanner hardware, we also have available the brightfield module, and the Live-Cell module.

This instrument is under the supervision of Dr. Cindy Berlinicke. 

The Leica LDM500 is a contamination-free, fully automated laser microdissection system for targeted cell isolation using gravity and a UV diode laser. Single cells or groups of cells can be microdissected from tissue sections, biopsies, smears, cytospins, and cell cultures.

The laser can be also applied for intracellular and cellular ablation. Nucleic acids and proteins specifically isolated from the dissected specimens can be directed to molecular analyses such as: sequencing, genotyping, PCR, real-time PCR, 2D gel electrophoresis or MALDI.

Please contact Stacey Cole for training.

The Invitrogen EVOS™ FL Auto 2 Imaging System is a high-performance, fully-automated, inverted, multi-channel fluorescence and transmitted light imaging system, ideal for tissue culture studies in well plates.

Please see Dr. Berlinicke for training.