Microscopy

Latest Innovations

Temperature Jump Dynamics Microscope

 

An apparatus and methods for characterizing the response of a particle to a parameter that characterizes an environment of the particle. A change is induced in the...

 

An apparatus and methods for characterizing the response of a particle to a parameter that characterizes an environment of the particle. A change is induced in the parameter characterizing the environment of the particle, where the change is rapid on a timescale characterizing kinetic response of the particle.

The response of the particle is then imaged at a plurality of instants over the course of a period of time shorter than the timescale characterizing the kinetic response of the particle. The response may be detected by measuring a temperature jump or by measuring correlation and anticorrelation between probe parameters across pixels.

More particularly, the particle may be a molecule, such as a biomolecule, and the environment, more particularly, may be a biological cell. The parameter characterizing the environment of the particle may be a temperature, and change may be induced in the temperature by heating a volume that includes the particle, either conductively or radiatively. The volume may be heated by means of a laser, such as an infrared laser, for example, or by microwave heating.

This technology produces highly spatial and temporally resolved microscopic images of induced relaxation dynamics through the combination of microscopy with a temperature jump in materials and biosystems under observation. 

Compatible with a variety of microscopy techniques, the technology allows for fast and controlled temperature change. Initiation of dynamics can also be achieved in a variety of systems, including chemical, physical, and biological systems. 

This technology can be applied to the observation of real-time temperature dynamics inside living cells. Compared to current options in the market, the technology is cheaper to produce and better for observing the aforesaid conditions. 

Coherent Fiber Continuum Source Centered at 1040nm by In Situ Transform-Limited Pulse Compression

 

A method using standard, inexpensive components and software to generate ultra-short laser pulses of a quality currently available only from complex, costly...

 

A method using standard, inexpensive components and software to generate ultra-short laser pulses of a quality currently available only from complex, costly systems, such as the Ti:Sapphire laser. Ultra-short laser pulses, shorter than 10 - 15 femtoseconds, are used in many applications including: multiphoton microscopy, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, and femtochemistry. At this time, such precision ultra-short pulse lasers are largely cost prohibitive in many applications, relatively difficult and expensive to maintain, and tend to be unreliable. This laser system was designed to provide a cost effective alternative to current femtosecond lasers.

Applications:

  • Research: multiphoton imaging, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, femtochemistry, and selective gene transfection
  • Medical: skin imaging and pathology using multiphoton imaging

Benefits:

  • Ultra-short pulses: this technology allows tunable pulse compression capable of producing pulses ranging from 220 to 8.7 femtoseconds. Due to the simplicity of this system, once configured, the pulses are fully reproducible, need little maintenance and have excellent reliability.
  • Size and portability: while Ti:Sapphire lasers require a significant amount of space, this system requires much less (it is roughly the size of a bread box) thereby allowing dramatically improved portability for easier translation to clinical applications, or inter-laboratory sharing and collaboration.
  • Cost: at a fraction of the cost of a Ti:Sapphire laser, this invention provides a cost-effective alternative to all other commercially available femtosecond lasers.
  • Reliability: the simple elegance of this laser system grants it excellent pulse reproducibility and reliability in contrast to currently available femtosecond lasers which, due to complexity and other factors, suffer from high maintenance costs and unreliability. Additionally, maintenance of this system is comparatively inexpensive because of its off-the-shelf standard components. 

A Simple Ultra-Stable Stage with Built-in Fiduciary Markers for Fluorescence Nanoscopy

 

An improved microscope stage mount with built-in fiduciary markers is used for fluorescence microscopy, and comprises: (a) an optically-transparent glass plate...

 

An improved microscope stage mount with built-in fiduciary markers is used for fluorescence microscopy, and comprises: (a) an optically-transparent glass plate adapted for specimen mounting and microscope viewing and comprising a specimen mounting area; and (b) a defined and ordered, two-dimensional microscopic array of fiduciary markers, wherein the markers are polymeric pillars affixed to the plate about the specimen mounting area, wherein the markers provide a three-dimensional spatial reference for the specimen.

Coherently Scattering Probes for Super-Resolved Mapping

 

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed coherently scattering probes to allow imaging of intracellular structures at nanometer spatial resolution...

 

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed coherently scattering probes to allow imaging of intracellular structures at nanometer spatial resolution using far-field instruments. The probes can acquire data in a multiplex fashion. This technology circumvents the temporal multiplexing of conventional PALM/STORM microscopy. Images are acquired quickly with high signal-to-noise ratio, making it applicable for dynamic biological samples. 

EAGER: Single Quantum Dots via 2 Photon Excitation

 

This invention uses established two-photon microscopy techniques in combination with quantum-dots. Additionally, a spatial light modulator (or hologram) is used to...

 

This invention uses established two-photon microscopy techniques in combination with quantum-dots. Additionally, a spatial light modulator (or hologram) is used to split the light source into near diffraction limited spots (here, an array of 9x9: which increases the speed of imaging by 80X) and a piezoelectric stage is used to shift the hologram in the z axis (thereby allowing 3D imaging). This technology exploits the inherent properties of quantum dots, including most notably their extremely efficient response to two-photon excitation, being 10-100 times brighter than conventional flurophores. For example, photobleaching of quantum dots occurs at power nearly 20 times lower than that for organic dyes. This low power requirement allows for negligible sample heating and consequent destruction. Necessary to this success are anti-blinking reductants which allows for continuous emission by the q-dots.

Multi-Color STED Microscopy with a Single Laser

 

Researchers have developed an optical system that enables the use of a single laser for multi-color STED microscopy. The cost and complexity of STED microscopes...

 

Researchers have developed an optical system that enables the use of a single laser for multi-color STED microscopy. The cost and complexity of STED microscopes will be greatly reduced with the configuration developed by Prof. Ha that takes the light of a laser source, divide it, filter it and use it for STED imaging. The system has already been tested for dual color imaging and the use of dynamic filters will enable the simple introduction of more colors.

Spectro-Electrochemical Cell used for Ultrafast Spectroscopy

 

 

Professor Dana Dlott and Natalia Garcia Rey have designed a spectra-electrochemical cell that is user and environmental friendly. The material used is...

 

 

Professor Dana Dlott and Natalia Garcia Rey have designed a spectra-electrochemical cell that is user and environmental friendly. The material used is chemically resistant for cleaning and electrochemical experiments. Previous designs presented a complicated assembly with many different parts, large volume, and a liquid gap between the window and the electrode that could not be controlled. 

Their findings show how important it is to have control of the gap for the ultrafast spectroscopic analysis and for understanding of the electrochemical reactions occurring on the electrolyte-electrode. This design also allows one to move the electrode sample to refresh the solution and repeat the experiment, setting the sample back to the same position with micrometer precision, which is very important in laser experiments and for comparing between results. The design uses commercial electrodes that can be polished, electrochemically cleaned and assembled in the cell. Previous designs use evaporated metallic thin fill on glass, increasing the cost of each experiment, and limitations of the electrodes to study (ie. single crystals). In addition, this design does not require a special sample holder; it can fit a commercially available 2" diameter mirror mount.

 

 

Nanoindentation of Biological Tissues Comes to Surface

Dr. Wagoner Johnson of the University of Illinois has developed a method to accurately detect sample surface in the context of nanoindentation of biological materials....

Dr. Wagoner Johnson of the University of Illinois has developed a method to accurately detect sample surface in the context of nanoindentation of biological materials. Nanoindentation is emerging as a powerful tool for measuring the mechanical properties of tissues. Such measurements have the power to determine local microstructural properties of tissue samples that can have a significant impact in understanding disease and pathology. However, a problem with nanoindentation of biological materials is the ability to detect the sample surface. Due to softness of biological tissue, nanoindentation probes start with a sink-in depth, which leads to inaccurate calculation of the elastic properties of the sample. Dr. Wagoner Johnson and her graduate student, Jie Wei, have developed a method to accurately determine sample surface in nanoindentation procedures, which can have a important implications in the field of nanoindentation.

3D imaging of Unlabeled Specimens

 

 

Dr. Popescu from the University of IL has developed a Gradient Light Interference Microscopy (GLIM) as an add-on module for commercial microscopes that...

 

 

Dr. Popescu from the University of IL has developed a Gradient Light Interference Microscopy (GLIM) as an add-on module for commercial microscopes that enables 3D imaging of unlabeled specimens. This method is not limited to photobleaching and phototoxicity commonly associated with fluorescence microscopy. Both thin and thick samples have been imaged successfully including beads, Hela cells, bovine embryos over broad temporal and spatial scales.

Photonic Resonator Outcoupler Microscopy (PROM)

...

 

Dr. Brian Cunningham has identified a novel label-free microscopy modality that quantitatively measures the scatter-induced changes in reflected intensity from a photonic crystal biosensor surface to reveal the kinetic evolution and spatial features of focal adhesions that form at the cell-surface interface. Compared to a sensing approach in which image contrast is generated by the dielectric permittivity of attached cell components, PROM provides contrast in reflected resonant intensity that is induced by the refractive index contrast of localized protein clusters that occur at the cell-surface interface that comprise FA sites. We expect PROM to be a highly useful tool that can reveal the mechanisms of biological processes that occur near the cell membrane when it is attached to extracellular matrix materials during apoptosis, stem cell differentiation, migration, division, and metastasis.

Benefits
  • Non-photobleaching
  • Imaging live cells for extended periods of time
  • Creates realtime movies of Focal Adhesion development

Pages