Service

 

The goal of the Core Facility is to provide a modern and advanced microscopic platform to overcome limitations for current projects and enable future cooperation projects within RWTH Aachen.

The Core Facility also sees itself as a platform for the methodological qualification and promotion of the scientific education of students, doctoral candidates, and scientists in medicine and natural sciences at RWTH.

We are located in the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science and thus offer optimal experimental conditions for intravital fluorescence imaging in rodents using TPLSM.

Service

  • Pre-experimental consulting (dyes/sample preparation)
  • Two-Photon Microscopy
    • In-vitro, ex-vivo, in-situ, triggered in-vivo and intravital imaging experiments
    • 2-dimensional image acquisition (fluorescence)
    • 3-dimensional image stacks (3D reconstruction)
    • Image acquisition over time (2D/3D)
    • Three-photon microscopy, second harmonic generation, fluorescence lifetime and spectral detection
  • Data evaluation and image processing
  • Training for independent microscope use
     
  • In-vivo optical imaging (bioluminescence/fluorescence)
    • Whole-body imaging in mouse/rat and ex-vivo/in-vitro samples

The Core Facility provides access to various fluorescence microscopy applications using two-photon laser scanning microscopy.

Applications range from 2D imaging to capturing 3D image stacks of long time series in living samples. In addition to "normal" fluorescence, other contrast methods, such as second harmonic generation, fluorescence lifetime, can also be used for imaging. Motorized sample stages allow mosaic scanning of larger sample areas or continuous recordings of different sample areas.

The facility offers its users the opportunity to operate the microscope systems independently after instruction and training.

In addition, the staff offers advice on specific experimental questions (e.g. sample preparation) as well as on the presentation and evaluation of the generated microscopy data. For this purpose, two evaluation computers with suitable image processing software are available.