The Digital Imaging Microscopy service is part of the Imaging Core, Judith A. Drazba, PhD, Director
The Core provides training, assistance and access to first-class microscopes for both transmitted light and fluorescence imaging:
Available Hoffman Modulation Contrast Optics
High-resolution cameras on all microscopes allow images to be adjusted through software and saved in digital form.
Time-lapse imaging of living specimens is available with an inverted microscope that:
Individual images from each ROI and time point are then joined to form a movie of the activity in each region over the elapsed time.
Large specimens on slides can be imaged in their entirety with either transmitted or fluorescence light using a microscope with computerized mosaic tiling capability.
A Total Internal Reflection Fluoresence system is available, by special arrangement, for visualizing cell membrane events in living cells as well as calcium ratio imaging.
Two spectral laser scanning confocal microscopes are available, each equipped with four lasers for fluorescence excitation at up to eight separate wavelengths. This allows users to visualize multi-labeled components of a specimen simultaneously to compare the three-dimensional relationships between them. For example we can visualize fluorescently labeled proteins and compare the quantity and localization relative to other labeled cellular components.
"Optigrid" technology allows rich, multichannel fluorescence and real-time 3D/4D imaging, similar to confocal microscopy, while using standard (non-laser) illumination.
Allows precise excision and capture of cell groups, single cells, or even parts of cells out of tissue sections or cultures without touching or contaminating them. Such explants can be used for RNA, DNA, or protein analysis.
Permits imaging large unmounted samples with brightfield and/or fluorescence using an automated dissecting microscope with color digital camera.
LI-COR Odyssey, laser-based scanning system for gels, in-cell Westerns, ELISA/FLISA, EMSA/Gel Shift, Protein Detection, etc. It makes use of the inherent sensitivity of the near-infrared spectrum, reduces autofluorescence, and enables direct detection (no film, darkroom, substrates).
The Core will provide software so that users can open and analyze data on computers in their lab.
The Core offers the use of scanning equipment:
as well as printers (8.5 X 14 inch limit):
To enable post-acquisition processing and image data analysis, the Core provides:
Lerner Research Institute
Cleveland Clinic, Mail Code NB21
9500 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
