Nikon's Biostation IM-Q incubator imaging system provides a stable environment for live cells and advanced phase and fluorescence imaging for cell-friendly time-lapse data acquisition.
The system is said to offer good cell care throughout imaging and allows users with minimal microscopy experience to conduct live cell imaging without a steep learning curve.
This compact system incorporates a microscope, an incubator and a high-sensitivity, cooled quantitative CCD camera integrated into a single package.
The Biostation IM-Q eliminates the need for a darkroom, meaning it can be installed anywhere.
It provides fully motorised control from a PC, allowing users who are not accustomed to operating a microscope or camera to easily conduct time-lapse imaging.
The system integrates cell culture and image capture functions, meaning no complex set-up or alignment procedures are necessary.
Providing thermal and mechanical stability, Biostation IM-Q reduces focus drift, enabling reliable imaging even over long periods.
Two high-performance monochrome Nikon Digital Sight camera options are available.
The camera's high sensitivity reduces exposure time, minimising photobleaching and damage to specimens, while increasing throughout for multipoint acquisition.
Images at different Z-axis planes can be selected from the captured Z-stack images at each time point and assembled into a seamless movie file - ideal for imaging a specimen in which the observation point moves along the Z-axis direction, such as with cell division.
The streaming function enables rapid motion changes such as cardiomyocyte beats to be captured by high-speed 10fps imaging at user-defined time intervals.
An ergo controller allows X, Y and Z directional movement with an operational feel similar to a microscope.
Two kinds of analysis software are available.
Nikon's NIS-Elements Ar imaging software allows multi-dimensional image capture, image processing and data management and analysis of up to 6D.
CL-Quant software automatically detects and measures the cellular area in unstained, label-free contrast images.
Image-processing algorithms provide accurate thesholding of phase contrast images, enabling non-invasive quantitative analysis of cells.
Cell detection accuracy can be improved through a learning function process.
Optional accessories broaden the range of applications.
Observation of four different samples is possible in a single time-lapse experiment, facilitating comparative analyses, via a motorised chamber for a four-well culture dish.
Use of the specialised Hi-Q4 culture dish enables multi-sample observation.
Perfusion components allow reagent administration and medium exchange without a change to the culture environment, supporting live cell research such as lengthy time-lapse imaging.
