Two-Photon Imaging Facility

 

The Core Facility "Two-Photon Imaging" of the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research, IZKF Aachen, offers all researchers of the Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University and external users the opportunity to use the complex and sophisticated fluorescence imaging technique of two-photon laser scanning microscopy, TPLSM, for their research.The use of the offered services of the Core Facility are subject to a fee in accordance with the guidelines of the IZKF Aachen.

 

The IZKF Core Facility is equipped with two TPLSM systems, Leica STELLARIS 8 DIVE FALCON and Olympus Fluoview FV1000 MPE, that enable in vitro, ex vivo, in situ and in vivo experiments.

TPLSM – Two-Photon Laser Scanning Microscopy

TPLSM is based on the principle of two-photon excitation by a pulsed near-infrared (NIR) laser and enables fluorescence imaging of optical sections with subcellular resolution. NIR light penetrates deeper into scattering tissue, allowing imaging deeper in intact samples. Image stacks of defined depth ranges can be used for spatial reconstruction to visualize fluorescent structures in 3D.

These properties make TPLSM advantageous over other microscopic techniques for visualizing structures deeper in scattering samples (tissues) in three dimensions.

In-Vivo Optical Imaging

An in-vivo optical imaging system, Perkin Elmer IVIS Lumina XR, is also integrated into the Core Facility. The in-vivo optical imaging system enables non-invasive whole-body imaging of fluorescence and/or bioluminescence signals in overlay with photographs or X-rays images.

This allows anatomical localization of fluorescent dyes or bioluminescent reporters in living small animals over longer periods of time in the same animal. In addition, investigations of cell cultures and ex vivo samples are possible.