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| Services and Technical Support Provided |
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At present the Optical Imaging Facility offers services and technical support as follows:
- Multi-color and high resolution fluorescence imaging of fixed and live specimens, up to three colors and a specimen depth of 100 microns.
- Bright-field, phase, and differential interference contrast (Nomarsky) imaging in conjunction with fluorescence imaging.
- Optical sectioning and three dimension reconstruction of live or slide-based specimens (as small as 0.2 microns).
- Two-photon fluorescence imaging and deep tissue imaging.
- Time-lapse imaging of fluorescently tagged molecules in living cells.
- Line scan measurement of fast changing signals with high temporal resolution.
- Measurement of cytosolic free ion concentrations (e.g. Ca2+, Na+, K+, Mg2+), membrane potential and pH, with high spatial and temporal resolution.
- Uncaging experiments involving photoactivation of caged molecules in living cells.
- Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) experiments. FRET is a technique that detects interaction at close proximity of two fluorescently tagged molecules in vivo.
- Fluorescence Recovery After Photo-bleaching (FRAP) experiments. FRAP measures the diffusion rate of fluorescently tagged molecules: the fluorescent molecule is photo-bleached in a defined region of the cell and the rate of fluorescence recovery from unbleached surroundings is measured.
- Simultaneous electrophysiological and optical recordings.
- Image analyses of data collected using the above-described imaging techniques, including quantification of cells or subcellular components (e.g. nuclei, axons, dendrites, synapses) and analyses of the sizes and shapes of these components and their fluorescence intensities.
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