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How we will help you

At MSL we will maximize your chances of success by:

  • Consulting with you about your project
  • Advising you on experimental design and sample preparation
  • Training you to take images

Please contact us as early as possible in your project, and review our light microscopy sample preparation guidelines. We support laser scanning and spinning disk confocal, light-sheet, widefield fluorescence, tiling, multi-day live-cell experiments, FRAP, FRET, darkfield, polarization, and more.

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Light Microscopes

Zeiss LSM 900 – “Lupin”

Very sensitive, inverted, laser scanning confocal microscope for fixed and live samples

  • Three GaAsP PMT fluorescence channels and a transmitted channel, with the option to use DIC.
  • Incubation system for live cell imaging with temperature and CO2 control, compatible with 35 mm dishes and chambered coverglass slides (previously on LSM710).
  • Automatic focus drift correction.
  • Excitation lines: 405 nm, 488 nm, 561 nm, 640 nm
  • Zeiss objectives:
    • 5X/0.16 Plan Apo
    • 10X/0.45 Plan Apo
    • 20X/0.80 Plan Apo
    • 25X/0.80 Plan Apo Multi Immersion (previously on LSM710)
    • 40X/1.4 Oil Plan Apo (previously on LSM710)
    • 63X/1.4 Plan Apo Oil

 

Zeiss LSM 710

Basic laser scanning confocal microscope with spectral imaging

  • Two conventional MA-PMTs and one 32-channel spectral MA-PMT for fluorescence channels, plus a transmitted light channel with the option to use DIC.
  • Excitation lines: 405 nm, 458 nm, 488 nm, 514 nm, 543 nm, 594 nm, 633 nm
  • Zeiss objectives:
    • 10X/0.45 Plan Apo
    • 20X/0.80 Plan Apo
    • 40X/0.95 Plan Apo
    • 40X/0.6 LD Plan Neo (previously on LSM700)
    • 63X/1.4 Oil Plan Apo

LaVision UltraMicroscope II – “Snape”

Light-sheet microscope for imaging large, fixed, clear samples with cellular resolution

  • Compatible with organic solvents used in many clearing techniques.
  • Olympus MVPLAPO 2X/0.5 objective coupled to a zoom body with a total of 11 possible magnifications, ranging from 1.26 to 12.6X. The objective has a corrected dipping cap with a working distance of 6 mm.
  • Excitation lines: 488 nm, 514 nm, 561 nm, 647 nm, 785 nm.
  • 3 angled light-sheets can illuminate the sample from each side, minimizing shadowing artifacts and allowing imaging of wide samples.
  • Light sheet thickness and evenness can be modulated by the user. Light-sheet waist can be as thin as 5 μm in Z and the horizontal focus position can be scanned in the X dimension to obtain even Z resolution.
  • Automated stage allows tiling of large specimens.

 

If you publish data collected with the LaVision UltraMicroscope II – “Snape”, please include the following text in your acknowledgements:

Research reported in this publication was supported in part by the North Carolina Biotech Center Institutional Support Grant 2016-IDG-1016.

Andor Dragonfly – “Hermione”

Extremely sensitive and fast spinning disk confocal

  • Ideally suited for:
    • Live cell imaging at different timescales ranging from tens of milliseconds to days.
    • Imaging of cleared or expanded tissue samples less than 2.4 mm tall.
    • Imaging large areas in fixed samples with high resolution and deconvolution.
  • Two cameras:
    • iXon Life 888 EMCCD, for sensitive and fast imaging
    • Zyla Plus 4.2MP sCMOS, for high resolution imaging
    • Can be use simultaneously in dual imaging mode with the following combinations of fluorophores: DAPI/GFP+RFP/Cy5 or CFP+YFP/RFP/Cy5
  • A full incubator enclosure and drift correction mechanisms allow stable imaging for many days at 37oC with humidified CO2.
  • Mosaic system, which allows patterned photostimulation, photoconversion, and bleaching.
  • A piezoelectric Z stage allows very fast Z stacks.
  • Two pinhole diameter options (40um and 25um) allow optimization of sensitivity and optical sectioning.
  • Excitation lines: 405 nm, 445 nm, 488 nm, 514 nm, 561 nm, 637 nm
  • Leica objectives
    • HC PL APO 10x/0.45
    • HC PL APO 20x/0.75 LWD
    • HC Fluotar L 25X/0.95 W 0.17 VISIR, with water pump for multi-day imaging
    • HC PL APO 63X/1.4 Oil
    • HC PL APO 100x/1.40 OIL CS2
If you publish data collected with the Andor Dragonfly – “Hermione”, please include the following text in your acknowledgements:

The Andor Dragonfly microscope was funded with support from National Institutes of Health grant S10OD030223.

Olympus BX61 – “Neville”

Upright widefield microscope with fluorescence, brightfield, darkfield, DIC, and polarization

  • Manual stage for quick manual navigation of slides.
  • Cameras:
    • Hamamatsu ORCA R2 for fluorescence imaging
    • QImaging RETIGA 4000R cameras for colorimetric imaging
  • Olympus objectives:
    • 1.25X/0.04 PlanApoN,
    • 2X/0.08 PlanApoN
    • 4X/0.13 UPlanFLN
    • 10X/0.30 UPlanFLN
    • 20X/0.75 UPlanSApo
    • 40X/0.90 UPlanSApo
    • 60X/1.42 Oil PlanApo N
    • 100X/1.30 Oil UPlanFLN
    • 20X/0.50 UPlanFLN (retired Dec 2022)
    • 40X/0.75 UPlanFLN (retired Dec 2022)

Olympus IX81 – “Luna”

Inverted widefield microscope with fluorescence (including Cy7), brightfield, phase contrast, DIC, and polarization

  • Motorized stage allows marking positions for imaging.
  • Tokai Hit CO2 and temperature control system for live cell imaging.
  • Cameras:
    • Hamamatsu Flash4 v3 sCMOS for fluorescence imaging
    • QImaging RETIGA 4000R cameras for colorimetric imaging
  • Olympus objectives:
    • 1.25X/0.04 PlanApoN,
    • 2X/0.08 PlanApoN
    • 4X/0.13 PhL UPlanFLN
    • 10X/0.30 Ph1 UPlanFLN
    • 20X/0.45 Ph1 LUCPlanFLN
    • 40X/0.60 Ph2 LUCPlanFLN
    • 40X/1.30 Oil DIC UPlanFLN,
    • 60X/1.42 Oil DIC PlanApo
    • 100X/1.3 Oil UPlanFLN
    • 100X/1.4 Oil UPlan S Apo PSF quality

Leica WILD M420 – “Bucky”

Macroscope for imaging objects up to 5 cm long

  • Macroscopic imaging system for objects up to 5 cm long.
  • Magnification from 3.6X to 87.5X with APOZOOM lens.
  • Bright field imaging in transmitted light.
  • QImaging Micropublisher Camera using QCapture software.

 

Calendar

Andor XD – “Hagrid”

Legacy spinning disk confocal for fast sensitive imaging

NOTE: we are not currently training new users on this microscope, as its functionality has been superseded by the Andor Dragonfly.

  • CSU-X1 Yokogawa spinning disk head on an Olympus IX81 body for fast, sensitive imaging.
  • Two cameras:
    • Andor iXon 897 EM-CCD, for sensitive and fast imaging.
    • Hamamatsu Flash4v2 sCMOS, for high resolution imaging.
  • A Tokai Hit incubator allows imaging at 37C with humidified CO2.
  • A piezoelectric Z stage allows very fast Z stacks.
  • Excitation lines: 405 nm, 488 nm, 561 nm, 640 nm
  • Olympus objectives:
    • 4X/0.10 UPlanN
    • 10X/0.40 UPlan S-APO
    • 20X/0.75 UPlan S-APO
    • 60X/1.20 Water UPlan S-APO
    • 60X/1.30 Silicone Oil UPlan S-APO

Retired Microscopes

This microscope was retired in August of 2022. We include its information here only for reference.

  • Excitation lines: 405 nm, 488 nm, 555 nm, 639 nm
  • Objective lenses:
    • 5X/0.16 Plan Apo,
    • 10X/0.45 Plan Apo
    • 20X/0.80 Plan Apo
    • 40X/0.6 LD Plan Neo
    • 40X/1.3 EC Plan Neofluar Oil
    • 63X/1.4 Plan Apo Oil
This microscope was retired in July of 2021. We include its information here only for reference.

  • Enclosed within a home-made environmental chamber controlling temperature and CO2
  • Hamamatsu ORCA R2 camera.
  • Objective Lenses:
    • 4X/0.13 PhL UPlanFL
    • 10X/0.30 Ph1 UPlanFL
    • 20X/0.45 Ph1 LUCPlanFLN
    • 40X/0.60 Ph2 LUCPlanFLN