Assisting in planning microscopy-oriented projects, choosing materials and equipment.

UBI provides technical support for microscopy users upon request. Besides image acquisition troubleshooting, we assist in planning microscopy-oriented projects, choosing materials and equipment, analyzing experimental results, processing acquired images and presenting data.

UBI provides individual user training in each microscopy system and organizes regular hands-on workshops as well as introductory courses on microscopy. Training in microscope operation is mandatory for new users and consists of a first training session followed by a number of assisted sessions until the user becomes fully independent in using the system in question. We also provide training in basic image analysis using ImageJ.

The 3i Marianas spinning disk confocal microscope is a fast imaging system which provides a tradeoff between confocality, resolution and speed. It is an inverted microscope ideal for live cell applications which require fast acquisition speeds rather than high resolution images. The scanning unit achieves confocality by directing light through a spinning disk with many small pinholes. Images are then acquired with a sensitive EMCCD which allows for very small exposure times but is limited in resolution to 512×512 pixels. The stage is motorized and furthermore equipped with a piezo for Z displacement so fast 4D imaging is possible in multiple stage positions.

The Zeiss Axiovert 200M is a fully motorized inverted widefield fluorescence microscope ideal for live-cell imaging applications. It is equipped with a small stage incubator for temperature control and CO2 supply. Using the Metamorph software you can control the motorized filters, shutters and stage to simultaneously set up multi-color time-lapse imaging experiments in multiple stage positions. Its sensitive cooled CCD camera (Roper Scientific Coolsnap HQ CCD) allows you to capture weak fluorescent signals and minimize photobleaching/photodamage in light sensitive samples.

The Zeiss Lumar V12 is a fluorescence stereo microscope suitable for high resolution 3D analysis of large specimens in fluorescent and transmitted light. The system is equipped with fluorescence filters for GFP, Cy3 and Cy5.5 and a sensitive cooled CCD camera (ORCA R2) that allows you to capture weak fluorescent signals and minimize photobleaching in light sensitive samples. With the Zeiss Lumar V12 you can perform multi-channel, Z-stack and time-lapse image acquisition of your samples, using two different objectives with different working distances and magnification values.

The Zeiss LSM 880 with Airyscan is a confocal point-scanning microscope able to generate high-resolution three-dimensional images of thick specimens with high sensitivity and low photodamage. It is an inverted microscope specially suitable for live cell imaging and photobleaching experiments, equipped with a large size incubator for temperature control and CO2 supply and with Definite Focus for hardware focus control during long time-lapse acquisitions. Its Airyscan 32 channel area detector is able to collect all light from an Airy pattern simultaneously, allowing for increased resolution (140 nm laterally and 400 nm axially, at 488 nm). Its scanning unit further includes two PMT detectors (one of them cooled) as well as a GaAsP detector for increased sensitivity (45% QE compared to ~25% QE for conventional PMT). It is equipped with lasers from violet to far red (405, 458, 488, 514, 561, 594 and 633 nm excitation wavelengths).

The Zeiss Cell Observer SD spinning disk confocal microscope is a fast imaging system which provides a trade-off between confocality, resolution and speed. It is an inverted microscope ideal for live cell applications which require fast acquisition speeds rather than high resolution images. The scanning unit achieves confocality by directing light through a spinning disk with many small pinholes. Images are then acquired with a sensitive EMCCD which allows for very small exposure times but is limited in resolution to 512×512 pixels. The stage is motorized and furthermore equipped with a piezo for Z displacement so fast 4D imaging is possible in multiple stage positions. The system is also equipped with a large size incubator for temperature control, a small stage incubator for CO2 supply and with Definite Focus for hardware focus control during long time-lapse acquisitions. You can also use the system as a widefield microscope, using a sCMOS camera for acquisition.

The Zeiss Cell Observer is a fully motorized inverted widefield fluorescence microscope ideal for live-cell imaging applications. It is equipped with a large cage incubator and a small stage incubator for temperature control and CO2 supply and with Definite Focus for hardware focus control during long time-lapse acquisitions. Using the ZEN 2 software you can control the motorized filters, shutters and stage to simultaneously set up multi-color time-lapse imaging experiments in multiple stage positions. Its sensitive cooled Axiocam 506m camera allows you to capture weak fluorescent signals and minimize photobleaching/photodamage in light sensitive samples.

The IVIS Lumina fluorescence/bioluminescence imaging system provides high sensitivity and flexibility to image fluorescent and/or bioluminescent reporters both in vivo and in vitro. The system includes a highly sensitive CCD camera, a light-tight imaging chamber with complete computer automation, and the Living Image software package for image acquisition and analysis.

The Leica DM5000B is an automated upright widefield fluorescence microscope ideal for imaging FISH or other fixed fluorescence slides. The microscope is prepared for brightfield, darkfield, phase contrast, DIC and polarization contrast techniques. It has a monochrome CCD camera for fluorescence image acquisition.

The Zeiss AxioZoom V16 is a fluorescence stereo microscope suitable for imaging large samples such as complete organisms. The system is equipped with fluorescence filters for GFP and RFP and a monochromatic camera (AxioCam MRm). With the Zeiss AxioZoom V16 you can perform multi-channel, Z-stack and time-lapse image acquisition of your samples, using a 1x objective with a high numerical aperture of NA 0.25.

The Zeiss Lightsheet Z1 is a light sheet fluorescence microscope able to image optical sections of large samples at subcellular resolution and very fast rates, with almost no phototoxicity or bleaching. It splits fluorescence excitation and detection into two separate light paths, with the axis of illumination being perpendicular to the detection axis. Since only a single thin section of the sample is illuminated by the light sheet, optical sectioning is achieved without a pinhole or image processing deconvolution. Light from the in-focus plane is collected by a sCMOS camera rather than pixel by pixel as in a point scanning laser confocal. This allows you to collect images faster and with less excitation light than you would with many other optical-sectioning microscopy techniques. You can image living samples in water or fixed samples where tissue clearing has been performed. Samples are mounted not on coverslips but inside special chambers that provide heating and cooling. The system is equipped with lasers from green to far red (488, 561 and 638 nm excitation wavelenghts) and appropriate fluorescence emission filters.

The Zeiss LSM 710 is a confocal point-scanning microscope able to generate high-resolution three-dimensional images of thick specimens with high sensitivity and low photodamage. It is an inverted microscope specially suitable for live cell imaging and photobleaching experiments, equipped with a large size incubator for temperature control. Its scanning unit has a spectral recycling loop, two sensitive PMT detectors and a filter-free spectral separation module that can be continuously set over the entire wavelength range (i.e. you can specify which wavelength range you want to detect). It is equipped with lasers from violet to far red (405, 458, 488, 561 and 633 nm excitation wavelengths).

The Leica DM2500 is an upright brightfield microscope equipped with a color camera for brightfield and differential interference contrast (DIC) imaging.

Multiphoton microscope with Dual Insight laser.