By Mahamudun Bhuiyan
The Maryanovich Lab Zeiss Axio Examiner D1 upright confocal microscope has received some new upgrades! These upgrades include a new CSU-W1 scanner unit with two spinning disks that have 50-micron and 25-micron holes, a new 785 nm laser, a new camera, Zdeck stage, along with a new computer. The CSU-W1 scanner unit allows for precise illumination of targeted tissue area using the 50- and 25-micron pinhole array. The unit rotates these pinholes to defuse and reject stray light from non-focal plane. It also uses temporal light intensity changes using Galvano-mirrors to scan and compose two-dimensional images. This scanner unit, along with the new PRCA-FusionBT C15440 camera, allows us to acquire clearer images with little to no excess light bleed through, along with a faster acquisition speed. Further, the weak illumination created by multi-point scanning through the pinhole array allows for safer live cell imaging to prevent photo bleaching and damage to the cells caused by strong illumination. The new 785 nm laser adds to our existing 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, and 640nm laser array, allowing us to excite PE-Cy7 fluorophores more effectively. The new Zdeck stage has is controlled by highly sensitive air spacers that auto regulate the balance or the stage ensuring controlled and accurate light exposure to each plane of focus. This stage is controlled using a joystick that allows us to move our sample down to only a few microns or more depending on how far we move the stick. All of this is warped up with our new computer that has the processing capability to control all aspects of the microscope.
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