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Confocal Rig

OBA Light Imaging Facility

    There are three microscopes available in this facility:

    -Two Zeiss Laser Scanning Microscopes (LSM) – Upright LSM 710 and (coming soon) upright LSM 900 with Airy Scan

    -One Zeiss Selective/Single Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) aka Lightsheet – Z.1 Lightsheet microscope

    Upright LSM 710

    • Lasers: diode 405nm (UV), argon multiline (458nm, 488nm, 514nm), diode 561nm, Helium-Neon 633nm
    • Objectives: 10x/0.45 Plan-Apochromat WD 2.0mm, 10x/0.3 W N-Achroplan WD 2.6mm, 20x/0.8 Plan-Apochromat WD 0.55mm, 25x/0.8 lmm Plan-Neo Flour DIC WD 0.21mm, 40x/1.0 W Plan-Apochromat WD 2.5mm, 40x/1.1 W LD C-Apochromat WD 0.62mm
    • Also available: 5x/0.16 Plan-Apochromat WD 12.1mm, 100x/1.4 Oil Plan-Apochromat WD 0.17mm
    • Detectors: 34-channel spectral detection, 8-channel AOTF
    • Computer: Intel Xeon 2.67GHz 6 Core, 6GB RAM, Windows 7 Ultimate, with StitchArt, Physiology and Multi-Time for ZEN 2010
    • Motorized PILine M-686 XY microscope stage, with 0.1 µm resolution, and joystick controller 

    Upright LSM 900 with Airy Scan 

    • Self-standby diode laser lines 405, 488, 561, and 640 nm
    • Objectives: 2.5x/0.085 EC Plan-NEOFLUAR WD 8.8mm, 25x/0.8 Imm LD LCI Plan-apochromat DIC M27 WD 0.57mm, 40x/1.3 Plan-Apochomat Oil DIC M27 WD 0.20mm, 40x/1.1 W LD C-Apochromat WD 0.62mm
    • Confocal scanhead featuring 3 detectors and full emission tunability
    • Airyscan 2 superresolution detector with up to 90 nm XY, 270 nm Z resolution;
    • includes high-speed multiplexing modes
    • Sample Navigator set, with 2.5x overview lens and integrated Axiocam 506 camera
    • Stagetop temperature control with temperature sensor
    • ZEN 3.7 software suite including Z-stack, time lapse, photobleaching, photoactivation, spectral unmixing, automated image analysis, colocalization, autofocus, 3D rendering, tile scanning/stitching

    Z.1 Lightsheet Microscope

    • Lasers: Solid state laser (445nm, 488nm, 561nm)
    • Fluorophores this microscope can image: Cyan (CFP), Green (GFP, Alexa 488), and Near Red (DsRed, mCherry)
    • Objectives: 5x / NA 0.16 dry (uses 5x NA 0.1 dry illumination objectives), 20x / 1.0 water dipper (uses 10x NA 0.2 dry illumination objectives), 40x / 1.0 water dipper (uses 10x NA 0.2 dry illumination objectives)
    • Sample Chamber: Sample is held in a buffer-filled chamber during imaging. PBS, seawater and nutrient buffers (e.g. E3) have all been used successfully. Water cooled/heated Peltier block for chamber temperature settings from 10C-42C.
    • Green/red or cyan/red simultaneous imaging is possible. Cyan/green or three-color serial imaging is also possible.
    • 360 degree sample rotation plus programming for imaging from multiple angles. Incorporation of beads allows for multi-angle 3D reconstructions.
    • Off-line version of Zeiss Zen software available on facility workstation.

     

    The LSM 710 was purchased thanks to a NSF Major Research Instrument Grant led by Prof. Melina Hale and Prof. Victoria Prince. This equipment is made available to members of the University of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History, with a primary focus on researchers from the labs within the Hull Court of Biological Sciences cluster (Anatomy, Culver, Erman, and Zoology).

    Trained users with facility access may click here to reserve time for either microscope. Users may reserve at minimum 30 minutes, and at most 18 hours, though extension is possible for time-series experiments.

    More Information on the Confocal Microscope Facility

    Frequently Asked Questions