Confocal microscope with extended detection range

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547605491

A confocal microscope is requested for imaging biological samples with high spatial and temporal resolution and over an extended spectral range. The system will be used primarily for observing living cells, tissues, and organisms (e.g. embryos and larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila or the zebrafish Danio). Therefore, in addition to high sensitivity and recording speed of the system, its suitability for observing living specimens as gently as possible is critical. The focus is on imaging with low light exposure and at the same time high sensitivity and spectral separation of multi-labeled samples. An extended detection range is particularly important for visualizing fluorophores with absorption and emission in the near infrared (NIR; excitation up to 790 nm, detection up to 850 nm) to enable imaging at greater sample depths. It is imperative that several fluorophores with overlapping excitation or emission spectra can be detected separately, e.g. by analyzing the fluorescence lifetime. To minimize problems due to bleaching and phototoxicity in live observations, highly sensitive detectors are needed. Three-dimensional, multi-channel observation of rapid processes such as intracellular vesicle transport requires equipment that enables correspondingly rapid changes in the wavelength of excitation light for different fluorescent dyes, exposure, image acquisition and focal plane. In addition, the system must allow automated acquisition at several defined points in the specimen over periods of several hours. An inverted microscope is essential for examining living samples in culture dishes and to combine imaging with microinjection experiments. The system must be expandable in order to enable additional applications (e.g. laser ablation) at a later date by adding appropriate components. The above criteria require a confocal microscope that enables images with high sensitivity and extended excitation and detection range for imaging NIR fluorophores combined with fluorescence lifetime analysis. The device will be installed in the Multiscale Imaging Center at the University of Münster and will be made available for shared use by researchers at the University of Münster as part of the Münster Imaging Network (MIN).

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Konfokales Mikroskop mit erweitertem Detektionsbereich
• Instrumentation Group: 5090 Spezialmikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Universität Münster
• Leader: Professor Dr. Stefan Luschnig