Lavision Ultramicroscope II has arrived.
The Lavision Ultramicroscope II light-sheet system is ideal for studying large, fixed, cleared samples with cellular resolution. It is compatible with all popular clearing methods, including those based on organic solvents. Examples of applications include tracing neural connections, studying maps of neural activity, studying vasculature, finding sparse populations of cells in large organs and many others.
Please contact us before you start preparing samples. We will advise you on potential clearing methods, ideal fluorophores, etc.
Here is an example of an image taken while calibrating the system:
Technical Details:
This system illuminates samples with a light-sheet that is approximately 5um-thick at its narrowest point in the Z dimension. To avoid shadowing artifacts and allow full imaging of thick samples, 3 angled light-sheets can illuminate the sample from each side. In addition, the light-sheet can be scanned horizontally in the X dimension to avoid a loss of Z resolution near the edges. The system comes equipped with five laser lines (488, 514, 561, 647, 785nm) and filter sets compatible with all common fluorophores from the green to far red regions of the spectrum. The system will be outfitted with a 1.3X/0.1 (coming in January) and a 4X/0.3 objective (currently available), as well as a 1X/2X magnification slider, for a total of 4 possible magnifications. The objectives have working distances of 9 and 5.5mm respectively, and the system can easily accommodate samples around 10mm in diameter; which is more than sufficient to image an entire adult mouse brain. These objectives and the sample mounting system are fully compatible with immersion media used in all clearing protocols, including those that require harsh organic solvents. The system has an automated stage that allows easy tiling of large specimens.