University of East Anglia chooses Carl Zeiss microscopes for state-of-the-art Henry Wellcome laboratory for cell imaging
In a deal worth more than £600,000, Carl Zeiss has supplied seven fluorescence microscopes with imaging systems for the state-of-the-art biomedical imaging facility at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The microscopes and their associated image analysis software are at the heart of the new laboratory's plans to study, in four dimensions, diseases in areas such as cancer, arthritis, ophthalmology and hearing.
The imaging suite has a Carl Zeiss LSM510 Meta confocal microscope with both upright and inverted stands, to provide high-resolution Fret and Frap imaging of both fixed and living tissue.
Another Axiovert 200 inverted microscope is used for live cell imaging in conjunction with a Perkin Elmer UltraView LCI spinning disc confocal.
Three microscopes (two Axiovert 200s and one Axioplan 2ie) are equipped with monochrome CCD cameras for the acquisition of fluorescence images in x, y, z, time, lambda, and at multiple sites.
In addition, a low power fluorescence stereomicroscope with colour CCD camera will be used for imaging large samples. The inverted confocal microscope and one of the Axiovert microscopes are fitted with environmental chambers for temperature and CO2 control.
This makes them ideal for extended observations under physiologically controlled conditions.
They can also be set up to allow microinjection with one of the two Eppendorf systems available in the facility.
All of the other microscope systems are equipped for temperature maintenance. "We will now be able to apply very advanced optical imaging techniques to a wide range of biological research," says Professor George Duncan of UEA's School of Biological Sciences.
"Researchers will be able to examine biological material at multiple sites, in 3D, over time and at multiple wavelengths giving them six dimensions." The microscopes and dedicated workstations in the imaging suite are linked to six powerful workstations in the analysis suite, which may be used to further analyse the acquired images off-line.
This includes software to carry out time-series analysis, object tracking through time or space, 3D reconstruction, image deconvolution, and the analysis of confocal image sets in 4D.
"We are delighted to be playing such a significant part in UEA's drive to give the region's scientists a world class imaging centre," says Aubrey Lambert, marketing manager at Carl Zeiss UK.
"The choice of Carl Zeiss is testament to the quality of our microscopes, cameras, software, and service."
