Spinning Disc Confocal

Spinning Disk Confocal
spinning Disc Confocal A
spinning Disc Confocal B
       

Lynne Coluccio, Ph.D., Senior Scientist

 

The PerkinElmer UltraVIEW ERS FRET O Spinning Disc Confocal Imaging System, awarded to BBRI from the NIH through a Shared instrumentation Grant (L. M. Coluccio, P.I.) is a spinning disk confocal microscope equipped with a three-line argon-krypton laser (488/568/640 nm); a helium-cadmium laser for 442 nm; and an argon only laser for 488 nm, 514 nm, which allow visualization of GFP, RFP, CY5, CFP and YFP, respectively. The UltraVIEW ERS FRET O System allows for high-speed, multiple-probe, time-lapse experiments; fully automated image capture; time-lapse morphometric measurements; fast sequential image capture of multiple probes; and fast z-stack acquisition. The imaging software supports fast image display and analysis, automatic scaling images, AVI movies, image annotation and pseudocolor. The system is supported by a Nikon Eclipse TE2000S inverted fluorescence microscope with 60X and 100X objectives, environmental incubator, and anti-vibration table.

 

The Spinning Disc Confocal allows for live-cell imaging in real-time.

Applications of the UltraVIEW ERS FRET O include:

  • visualization of fast biological processes such as calcium release and membrane trafficking with high resolution;
  • performance of fast time-lapse confocal imaging of dynamic living samples with multiple wavelengths and z-position for 4-D and 5-D imaging in real-time;
  • capture of cellular processes over long periods of time with low levels of phototoxicity and photobleaching;
  • rapid and highly resolved visualization of both live and fixed cells with a wide range of fluorescent dyes; and
  • study of the cellular dynamics of protein-protein interactions.