Advanced Microscopic Imaging Center

Overview of Services

The Tufts Advanced Microscopic Imaging Center (TAMIC) offers a wide array of optical and spectral quantitative imaging techniques, for the chemical and structural characterization of materials at submicron scales. Our staff is particularly experienced in confocal imaging of biological specimens and engineered tissues. Laser excitation and photodetection schemes are optimized for label-free functional imaging of live cells and tissues, such as:

• Cellular metabolism and mitochondrial redox state (Two-photon excited fluorescence, TPEF)
• Lipid metabolism and neuronal myelination (Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, CARS)
• Collagen fiber organization (Second harmonic generation, SHG)

The centerpiece of the imaging center is a pair of Leica SP8 confocal/multiphoton microscopes which can provide:

• Long-term, label-free imaging of live cells and tissues
• 3D imaging with submicron spatial resolution at depths < 200µm
• Multimodal microscopy (confocal reflectance, fluorescence, TPEF, SHG, CARS, FLIM, DIC)
• Excitation lasers at 405, 448, 514, 552, 638 (CW) and 680-1300nm (pulsed)
• NIR multiphoton excitation for reduced photodamage and deeper penetration
• Multicolor confocal imaging with 3 independent, continuously tunable photodetectors
• Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) for environmentally-sensitive molecular probing
• Macroscopic imaging at submicron scales (image stitching)
• Extremely sensitive photon counting detectors (Leica HyD)
• Video rate scanning (for 256x256 images)
• Motorized stage for autofocus and automated microplate imaging

TAMIC is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives' Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, and from the National Science Foundation Major Instrumentation Research grant. 

Location and hours of operation

Links and Resources

1. Tufts Advanced Microscopic Imaging Center website

Contacts