Equipment
The Center for Advanced Microscopy at UTHealth at Houston, a Nikon Center of Excellence, is a state-of-the-art microscopy facility serving the Texas Medical Center. Our mission is to facilitate the utilization of advanced light microscopy techniques and quantitative image analysis to advance the cutting-edge research programs of McGovern Medical School, UTHealth, and the greater Texas Medical Center.
The Nikon n-STORM Super-Resolution system, equipped with TIRF capabilities, is designed for single-molecule imaging using techniques such as Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM), PhotoActivated Localization Microscopy (PALM), and DNA-PAINT. It offers spatial resolution down to 20 nm and supports multi-color imaging in both 2D and 3D modes.
Structured Illumination technology provides a two-fold resolution enhancement down to 100 nm, enabling the imaging of dynamic events in live samples in 2D, 3D, and TIRF-SIM modes, the latter offering higher signal-to-noise ratios for further resolution improvement. The system features versatile illumination and detection options, offering users greater flexibility for various imaging applications.
Built on a Nikon A1 scanning confocal system with a 2 GaAsp PMT multi-detector unit give brighter signals, enhanced signal-to-noise, and allow less phototoxicity. The PicoQuant unit provides Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) functionality employing pulsed lasers for the purpose of assessing protein-protein interactions.