Imaging & Microscopy Core

Objective:

The goal of the Neuroscience Institute's Imaging and Microscopy Core is to provide centralized state-of-the-art microscopic and imaging technologies as well as technical assistance with histological tissue processing, immunofluorescence staining, confocal microscopy, and image analysis. The Microscopy and Imaging Core will support and facilitate users by:

Maintaining a centralized, cost-effective resource for high quality photo microscopy, imaging and image analysis services. Continuing to provide cutting-edge services and techniques to enhance experimental design, data acquisition, data analysis and presentation.
Providing state-of-the-art digital photographic and image output technologies to ensure highly consistent image quality for techniques performed in the respective user laboratories.
Providing training in immunohistochemistry and digital image capture, processing and analysis.

Staffing of the Core:

Byron Ford, Ph.D.
Core Director for the Microscopy and Imaging Core Facility

Technician:

The Core has a dedicated technician who has experience and expertise in histology and a number of other techniques.

Resources and Environment:

All facilities offered by the Core are located within the Neuroscience Institute on the second floor of the Multidisciplinary Research Center. The Microscopy and Imaging Core laboratory will provide investigators access to the following technologies (including training, information transfer, quality control and consultations):

Microscopy technologies:

Light microscopy (including bright-field, phase-contrast, dark field, and intensified low-light)
Single and dual chromophore indirect immunofluorescence
Photo microscopy on 35 mm film
Confocal and color digital photo microscopy

Digital image analysis:

Quantitative analysis using microscopy technologies listed above
Morphometry
Object identification, counting and gray level analysis
Image processing (mathematical operations, pseudo color generation, etc.)
Spatial intensity quantitation of single and dual-emission chromophores.

Digital photographic/imaging services:

Color image and presentation recording on 35mm film from PowerPoint, tiff images, etc.
High resolution digital scanning of 35 mm film (positives and negatives)
High resolution digital flat-bed scanning of transparent and opaque films, x-rays, polyacrylamide gels, westerns and photographs.
Adobe Superscript PhotoShop preparation of digital images
Image file archiving and network file server access

Microscopy equipment available in the Core include the following:

Zeiss Axioscope (upright) Microscope with epifluorescence photo microscopy (100W Hg pwr source) attached to a 23GB HD
Dell Precision 420 computer running on a Windows NT workstation
Olympus IX70 (inverted) Microscope with epifluorescence, brightfield, phase contrast and Nomarski DIC (100W Hg bulb burner) attached to a 4.0GB HD Windows NT workstation
Olympus SC35 and Zeiss photo micrographic camera systems.
Olympus Fluoview Control Unit and Photomultiplyer tube unit
Anti-vibration Table
NEC Argon Gas LASER with power supply
Omnichrome Series 43 Krypton LASER with Ion laser power supply
Optronics CCD camera
SPOT Cooled CCD 36-bit color camera with adapter for both microscopes
A wide selection of high quality objectives for phase, DIC, bright field and fluorescence microscopy between 4x-60x magnification

Image analysis capabilities include:

Image Pro image analysis program
Diagnostic Imaging basic 3.2.4 SPOT software
Diagnostic Imaging Advanced 3.2.4 SPOT software
Fluoview 2.0 confocal image analysis program

Image scanning/output capabilities:

HP 4C flatbed color scanner (600 dpi) with transparency adapter
Polaroid Sprintscan 35 mm color scanner (2700 dpi) with PathScan enabler
Kodak 1650 PS Dye Transfer color photographic quality network printer
Agfa PCRII color 4000 line 35 mm film scanner/recorder
Three Pentium-based workstations, with recordable CD-ROM, ZIP and JAZ drive capabilities.