We provide consultation and training services for our range of microscopes, as well as the option to conduct experiments on your behalf.

Confocal microscopy is an advanced optical imaging technique that uses fluorescence to generate high-resolution, high-contrast images with improved axial resolution compared to traditional epi-fluorescence. The technique involves illuminating the specimen with a laser excitation source at a single location (corresponding to a single pixel in a digital image) and detecting the emission through a pinhole located in a conjugate focal plane. The laser is then scanned over the entire field of view to record fluorescence emission for a small axial volume at each location. Our confocal microscope offers down to 120nm resolution and is equipped with incubation chambers for live cell imaging over long periods, allowing for a diverse range of biological specimens to be imaged.

Unlike confocal microscopy which uses a pinhole to reject out-of-focus light, multi-photon microscopy utilizes a pulsed infrared laser to excite fluorescence only within the diffraction-limited spot of the objective lens, creating an inherent optical section. This has two main advantages. Firstly, the longer wavelength of the near-infrared laser allows it to penetrate biological tissue more efficiently, making it possible to image thicker samples than with traditional confocal microscopy. Secondly, the inherent nature of the optical section generated by photon crowding enables direct fluorescence detection without having to travel back through a scanning system, improving the ability to capture scattered light, which is more prevalent in thicker samples. Multi-photon microscopy is particularly effective for imaging thick and opaque samples, such as tissue sections several hundred microns thick or even the intact brain of a live mouse.

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a precise technique for isolating cells from their surrounding tissues under direct microscopic visualization, using a laser beam. This method allows specific cells to be selectively removed, separating them from unwanted cells to obtain enriched cell populations. These isolated cells can be utilized to generate cDNA libraries, conduct transcriptome or proteome analyses, or for other research purposes that require pure cell populations.

We provide consultation and training services for the most appropriate analysis for you, as well as the option to conduct experiments on your behalf.

On your computer

• FIJI ImageJ: standard image processing including area measurement, object counts, colocalization, and more.
• Cellular and Hemodynamic Image Processing Suite (MATLAB): Analysis of functional images of cells and blood vessels including calcium analysis and hemodynamic measurements.

Remote or in-lab analysis

• IMARIS: 3D rendering and analysis: Deconvolution, Filament tracing, colocalization, and more.