This Core provides equipment and expertise to assist investigators in applying sophisticated optical microscopy techniques to their research. Fluorescence and transmitted light microscopy can provide information about the relationships of cells to one another and about the disposition of structures within cells. Images can be obtained in fixed cells and changes in living cells over time can be tracked using time-lapse imaging. Additionally, information about the 3-dimensional arrangement of structures within cells, both fixed and living, is accessible through the use of the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope.


Facilities

The Core has a Zeiss LSM 510 laser scanning confocal microscope. This microscope has four detectors – 3 for fluorescence, 1 for bright field/differential interference contrast. It is illuminated by 3 lasers (argon, "green" helium-neon and "red" helium-heon) which supply excitation lines at 458 nm, 488 nm, 514 nm, 543 nm, and 633 nm, allowing simultaneous confocal imaging of 3 fluorophores (eg: FITC, Rhodamine and CY5) plus the bright field/DIC image.

The Facility also has a Zeiss Axiovert 200 widefield microscope for standard fluorescence and brightfield imaging. The Axiovert 200 is equipped with a MicroMax interline CCD camera and an assortment of fluorescence filter cubes that enable imaging of the most commonly used fluorophores (such as DAPI, FITC & GFP, Rhodamine, and CY5 & TOPRO-3) as well as transmitted light images in phase or differential interference contrasts. The microscope is controlled using MetaMorph software (from Molecular Devices).

Lastly, the Facility has an image processing workstation that runs both the Zeiss LSM proprietary software and the MetaMorph software for analysis of the images acquired on the microscopes.


Services

• Consultation. Consultation on experimental design and approach is provided by the Facility Manager and Director.
• Confocal Microcopy Imaging. The equipment in this facility includes a confocal microscope to be used for 3D image acquisition, and Dell and Silicon Graphics workstations to quantify, manipulate and render 3D fluorescence microscopy images.
• Training: The Manager will provide training in usage of the confocal microscope and the workstations. Training sessions are arranged in consultation with the Facility Manager.

Contact

Leona Cohen-Gould, MS
(212) 746-6146