Instruments can be categorized into two types:
• "Open access" equipment that can be reserved and operated by all trained users.
• "Logistician-managed" equipment that cannot be reserved by users and can only be operated by the platform staff.
The platform offers a wide range of confocal microscopes, which allow you to perform experiment from basic confocal microscopy to high-end techniques. These microscopes are accessible after a training dispensed by Alexandre (Alexandre.Hego@uliege.be) or Gaëtan (Gaetan.Lefevre@uliege.be).
Light sources can induce photoxicity and photobleaching, which can have negative effects on live samples and their quantification. The correct configuration of microscopes and the choice of appropriate technology are prerequisites for obtaining reproducible quantitative data on biological processes.
Conventional microscopy uses fluorescence intensity to obtain information on the location and relative concentration of targets in a sample. These information can be improved by fluorescence lifetime microscopy (FLIM). FLIM can be used to detect environmental changes, protein interactions and spectral separations. This technology is available at the GIGA Cell Imaging platform, thanks to the Leica Stellaris 8 and the recent acquisition of the FALCON module, which makes FLIM technology even more accessible and easy to use.
The Axioscan is a fully automated epi-fluorescence slide scanner, designed for high-throughput digitization of a large number of samples.
Our new NikonTi2 inverted microscope has been designed for TIRF HILO and FRET experiment. TIRF can be used to study dynamic processes at the membrane with high spatial and temporal resolution. By using an inclined illumination angle, HILO selectively excites fluorophores in a thin optical section, reducing background fluorescence while penetrating deeper into the cell compared to TIRF.
