Staining/Photography


For Staining
Shandon Cadenza automated multi-slide immunostainer

This is a fully programmable automated immunostainer, designed to perform all stages of immunostaining (ICC) from the application of blocking agents up to and including counterstaining.

  • It can accommodate up to 9 different primary antisera.
  • It is capable of processing 20 slides at one time.


For Microscopy
Nikon TE2000-U C1 confocal laser scanning microscope

This confocal has 488 nm, 543 nm, and 633 nm laser lines to excite fluorophores with compatible excitation characteristics. Fluorescence emission is collected with 505-550 nm, 560-615 nm, and 650 nm filter sets, respectively, in independent channels. The microscope is also equipped with a fourth detector to collect light for differential interference contrast (DIC) imaging.

  • There are 10x, 20x, 40x, 60x, and 100x objective lenses available for use on this microscope. They are all capable of imaging with DIC, making it possible to do bright-field confocal imaging.  

  • Motorized Z-plane movement allows for optical sectioning through a sample. The EZ C1 confocal software can be used subsequently to reconstruct serial Z-plane images into a 3D rendering.


Images obtained with this microscope:
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Nikon TE2000-E wide-field fluorescence microscope

The Nikon TE2000-E is a fully automated wide-field fluorescence microscope that is equipped for diverse imaging. 

  • A motorized Z-focusing motor enables collection of in-focus images in different image planes. This utility is most often used in acquiring images for deconvolution and stereolgy.

  • It has a xenon lamp for fluorescence excitation, which is an excellent light source for calcium imaging with Fura-2 and UV-Vis fluorophores.

  • A very sensitive CoolSNAP HQ2 camera is ideal for fluorescence imaging, as it produces very little noise and allows for faster integration times.

  • A 5 mega pixel color camera is available for non-fluorescent samples and is ideal for histological stains.

  • There are 4x and 10x phase lenses available as well as high NA 20x, 40x, 60x, and 100x DIC lenses.

  • A computer controlled excitation filter wheel allows for fast, automated collection of images.  

  • Filter sets are available for UV, blue, green, and red excitation and emitted light is collected with the corresponding band pass or long pass emission filters.

  • Filter sets are available for calcium ratio imaging, specifically Fura-2 AM.

  • A motorized stage in conjuction with Nikon NIS Elements or Stereologer software allows for the collection of images in multiple, specified locations.

  • Nikon NIS Elements Advanced Research imaging software is capable of 6 dimensions (6D) of acquisition.  Up to six combinations of wavelength, time, x-, y-, and/or z-positions are possible to control with this software.

 

Confocal images


These are images are of Trypanosoma brucei. They were acquired with a Nikon TE2000U C1 laser scanning microscope equipped a 100x 1.4 NA DIC objective.  The sample was excited with a 488nm laser, and the emitted light was collected using 505-550nm band pass. The image of the T. brucei on the left was acquired using DIC and on the right by imaging MitoTracker Green.
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Wide-field image
Rat embryo fibroblasts were labeled with Hoechst (blue, nucleus), Alexa Fluor 488-phalloidin (green, actin), and MitoTracker Red (orange, mitochondria). The image was acquired using a Nikon TE2000E equipped with a 20x 0.75 NA objective lens and a CoolSNAP HQ2 camera.

Picture of Nikon TE2000-U C1
Picture of Nikon TE2000-E