The William Harvey Research Institute houses a Core Confocal Microscope Facility (CCMF) and the CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility (CMR-ABF).
Our imaging facilities include:
LSM 880 Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope with AiryScan (CCMF)
This new state-of-the art, fast scanning (27 frames/sec @ 480 x 480 pixels) near super-resolution confocal microscope (max 140nm lateral and 400nm axial resolution) was installed in September 2016.
It comprises an inverted, fully motorised (X,Y,Z) Zeiss Axio Imager 2 with 10x, 20x, 40x and 63x objectives, which supports epifluorescence (RGB) and brightfield microscopy. The stand is equipped with an incubation system with temperature and CO2 control making it possible to image living material in addition to fixed, sectioned biological material.
The system is equipped with a Diode 405nm laser, a Multiline Argon laser (wavelengths 458nm, 488nm and 514nm), a DPSS 561nm laser, a HeNe 594nm laser and a HeNe 633nm laser. The confocal has a range of ultra-sensitive detectors, including the Airyscan detector module, that are run through the user-friendly ZEN software platform. The software includes modules for 3D/4D reconstruction and animation; spectral scanning; analysis and quantification of co-localisation; spectral unmixing, advanced tiling and photo-bleaching (FRAP, FRET).
Charges: This system is currently charged at £25/hour
This core confocal microscope facility was made possible by a grant from Barts Charity.
Imaging applications:
Our Zeiss LSM800 is a fully motorised inverted confocal microscope with a fast piezo Z-drive and environmental control. It is ideally suited to long-term or high-speed live cell imaging, as well as high-resolution fixed sample analyses.
Confocal microscopy optically sections your sample to enable the capture of high-quality three-dimensional images. With this system, you can additionally acquire multi-position time-lapse movies, multi-well plate scans, assess protein dynamics with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, tile and stitch to image whole-mount tissues at high resolution, or combine complex workflows with the ‘experiment designer’.
System specifications:For a full system specification, visit our CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility equipment pages. In brief, the system is configured with 405, 488, 561 and 640 nm solid state laser diodes, 4 objective lens options (10x/0.3 N, 20x/0.8 Pl Apo, 40x/1.3 oil Pl Apo, 63x/1.4 oil Pl Apo), two highly-sensitive GaAsP PMT detectors for simultaneous multi-channel capture and a transmitted light detector for brightfield and DIC acquisitions.
Access and charges:
The system is available to all QMUL users; it can be booked 24/7 by fully trained users via our Agendo booking system. Access is charged at £25/hour or £100/night. This microscope is supported by a full-time facility manager who can provide beginner and advanced trainings at no additional cost.
Visit the CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility website for more information. Contact Dr Tom Nightingale (t.nightingale@qmul.ac.uk) or Dr Mathieu-Benoit Voisin (m.b.voisin@qmul.ac.uk) to discuss access.
Our Leica SP5 upright confocal laser scanning microscope is equipped with a large stage area, water dipping lenses and optional high-speed resonant scanner to enable live tissue or intravital imaging applications as well as high-resolution fixed sample imaging. In addition, its long working-distance lenses (ranging up to 3.6 mm) can enable deeper imaging in cleared tissues and its large stage area can accommodate large or unusual sample types that don’t have to conform to the standard slide or imaging chamber mount.
System specifications:
For a full system specification, visit our CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility equipment pages. In brief, the system is configured with 458, 476, 488, 496, 514, 561 and 633 nm laser lines, four objective lens options (10x/0.3 W Apo, 20x/1.0 W Apo, 63x/0.9 W Apo, 63x/1.4 oil Pl Apo), and three PMT detectors for simultaneous multi-channel capture.
The system is available to all QMUL and external users; it can be booked 24/7 by fully trained users via our Agendo booking system. Access is charged at £25/hour or £100/night. This microscope is supported by a full-time facility manager who can provide beginner and advanced trainings at no additional cost.
Our Leica SP8 upright confocal laser scanning microscope is equipped with a large stage area, water dipping lenses and optional high-speed resonant scanner to enable live tissue or intravital imaging applications as well as high-resolution fixed sample imaging.
The system is equipped with state-of-the-art excitation and detection technology and is ideally suited to the imaging of challenging fluorophores or working with high channel numbers.
For a full system specification, visit our CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility equipment pages. In brief, the system is configured with a super-continuum white light laser, with which the user can select any laser line (or up to eight simultaneously) between 470-670 nm. The microscope has four objective lens options (10x/0.3 W Apo, 20x/1.0 W Apo, 63x/0.9 W Apo, 63x/1.4 oil Pl Apo), and two high-sensitivity Hybrid detectors, in addition to two PMT detectors for simultaneous multi-channel capture.
Our Leica SP8 DIVE upright microscope is a state-of the-art multiphoton microscope with combined confocal and high-speed fluorescence lifetime imaging capability. Unlike filter-based multiphotons, this system has fully tunable multiphoton excitation and emission parameters for total flexibility in fluorophore selection.
The system is equipped with a large stage area, water dipping lenses and optional high-speed resonant scanner to enable live tissue or intravital imaging applications as well as high-resolution fixed sample imaging.
Multiphoton microscopy can obtain confocal-quality images at greater depths. This system is ideal for deep imaging, as well as label-free imaging using second and third harmonic generation (SHG, THG). The FALCON FLIM capability additionally enables robust detection of FRET, bio-sensing applications and label-free imaging of metabolic status.
For a full system specification, visit our CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility equipment pages. In brief, the system is configured with a tunable 680-1300 nm IR pulsed solid state laser, fixed 1045 nm line, as well as 488, 552 and 638 nm laser diodes for confocal work. The microscope has four objective lens options (10x/0.3 W Apo, 25x/1.0 W IR Apo, 63x/0.9 W Apo, 63x/1.4 oil Pl Apo), two confocal PMT detectors and four multiphoton detectors (including two high-sensitivity hybrid detectors).
The system is available to all QMUL and external users; it can be booked 24/7 by fully trained users via our Agendo booking system. Access is charged at £30/hour. This microscope is supported by a full-time facility manager who can provide beginner and advanced trainings at no additional cost.
Our Olympus iX81 is an inverted, fully motorised and environment-controlled microscope for brightfield, phase contrast and epifluorescence imaging applications, suited to live and fixed samples.
As a camera-based system, widefield microscopy provides high-speed capture that is ideally suited to thin samples (cell monolayers or 10 um tissue sections). Common applications include label-free cell migration assays, tile and stitch scans to map fluorescence over large tissue sections and low-cost sample screening ahead of confocal work.
For a full system specification, visit our CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility equipment pages. In brief, the system is configured with DAPI, GFP, RFP LEDs and filters, four dry phase objective lens options (4x, 10x, 20x, 40x) and a Hamamatsu Orca-ER camera.
The system is available to all QMUL and external users; it can be booked 24/7 by fully trained users via our Agendo booking system. Access is charged at £5/hour. This microscope is supported by a full-time facility manager who can provide beginner and advanced trainings at no additional cost.
Our Zeiss Axioscop upright microscope enables brightfield, DIC and fluorescence imaging applications with fixed and live samples. The system is ideally configured for intravital imaging of transparent tissues (e.g. cremaster muscles, mesentery).
The system is configured with GFP and RFP filtersets, six objective lens options (10x/0.25, 20x/0.45, 20x/0.5 W, 40x/0.65, 40x/0.8 W and 100x/1.0 W) and a Hamamatsu Orca-Flash4.0 camera.
The system is available to all QMUL and external users; it can be booked 24/7 by fully trained users via our Agendo booking system. Access is charged at £5/hour. This microscope is supported by a full-time facility manager who can provide beginner and advanced training at no additional cost.
The CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility offers image analysis hardware and support to facility users, including three high-end workstations which run dedicated image visualisation and analysis software packages. Basic training in these software tools is available on request as well as guidance on advanced analysis applications such as colocalisation, object identification and tracking.
Available software:
Imaris 3/4D image visualisation and analysis package, Fiji (ImageJ), QuPath, Matlab, Anaconda and ZEN.
Workstation specifications:
Workstation 1 – Dell Precision Tower 7910 with Intel Xeon E5-2667 (3.2 GHz, 8 core) processor, 128 GB RAM and AMD FirePro W7100 (8 GB) graphics card. Runs 64-bit Windows 10 operating system.
Workstation 2 - Dell Precision Tower 5820 with Intel Xeon W-2145 (3.7 GHz, 8 core) processor, 256 GB RAM and Dual NVIDIA Quadro P4000 (8 GB) graphics card. Runs 64-bit Windows 10 operating system.
Workstation 3 - Dell Precision Tower 5820 with Intel Xeon W-2145 (3.7 GHz, 8 core) processor, 256 GB RAM and Radeon Pro WX 7100 (8 GB) graphics card. Runs 64-bit Windows 10 operating system.
The workstations are available 24/7 (in person or remotely) free of charge for active facility users. The systems can be booked via our Agendo booking system. Visit the CMR Advanced Bioimaging Facility website for more information. Contact Dr Tom Nightingale (t.nightingale@qmul.ac.uk) or Dr Mathieu-Benoit Voisin (m.b.voisin@qmul.ac.uk) to discuss access.
All this equipment is available for researchers within QMUL and beyond. We can provide support, advice and training for anyone interested in using our facility.
CMR Advanced Bio-imaging Facility
See the CMR Advanced Bio-imaging Facility website for more information, or contact the facility managers to discuss access or support for your imaging project:
Dr Paul ImbertEmail: p.imbert@qmul.ac.uk
Dr Tom NightingaleEmail: t.nightingale@qmul.ac.ukDr Mathieu-Benoit VoisinEmail: m.b.voisin@qmul.ac.uk
Location: John Vane Science Centre, 4th Floor, Centre for Microvascular ResearchCharterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ
CCMF
For enquiries regarding the use of the LSM880, please contact:
Laura Perna Email: l.perna@qmul.ac.ukProf Paul ChappleEmail: j.p.chapple@qmul.ac.uk
Location: John Vane Science Centre, 1st floor, Centre for Endocrinology,Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ