Optical Microscopy Platform

CLSM (Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope)

CLSM allows high-resolution imaging with depth selectivity, which provides incredibly clean, thin optical sections out of thick specimens by either reflection or fluorescence. It also allows visualization at different planes running parallel to the line of sight. Besides, CLSM can provide images deep into light scattering samples, and can generate impressive 3-dimensional views at very high resolution.

Spinning Disk Confocal Microscope

Spinning disk confocal microscope is featured by high-speed and high-sensitivity. This makes it an optimal choice for the reconstruction of 3-D structures of cells or organelles, as well as observation of dynamic cellular processes. In general, this microscopy technique is highly useful for high speed imaging of living cells expressing fluorescent proteins or stained with membrane-permeant synthetic dyes.

Structural Illumination Microscope

The application of structural illumination microscope eliminates the limitation of optical diffraction, which provides the capability of imaging at super resolutions (the x, y axis resolution up to 165 nm, and the z axis resolution up to 352 nm). The performance of structural illumination microscope is two times higher than conventional optical microscopes. Incorporated with the image algorithm technology / software developed by Enli Tech, the non-focal plane noise can be eliminated, which provides high resolution three-dimensional diagram. The structural illumination microscope is the most cost-efficient solution for three-dimensional structure measurements.

STORM (Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscope)

STORM provides the highest resolution of all optical microscopy systems that have been developed so far. STORM takes advantage of the blinking properties of fluorescent molecules. Specifically, only a subset of molecules will be emitting light at a given time point, which leads to a series of images been captured. This allows precise locating of the signals from single fluorophores, which are then reconstructed to a high-resolution image. In general, a lateral resolution of approximately 20nm, and an axial resolution of 50nm can be achieved.

Two-Photon Fluorescence Microscope

In two-photon fluorescence microscopy, a pulsed infra-red laser scans across the sample to produce an optically sectioned image of a fluorescent specimen. Two-photon microscopy can have several advantages over confocal microscopy, especially for thick specimens, including deeper penetration and reduced photobleaching.

FILM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscope)

FILM obtains images based on the differences in the excited state decay rate from a fluorescent sample. As the fluorescence lifetime is not affected by sample concentration, absorption, thickness, photo-bleaching or excitation intensity, FILM is more robust than intensity based methods. Besides, as the fluorescence lifetime is dependent on a variety of environmental parameters, FILM can be applied in functional imaging purposes.

TIRFM (Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscope)

TIRFM is an ideal tool for the investigation of distributions and dynamics of proteins involved in cell-cell interactions, as well as observation of single molecule fluorescence at surfaces and interfaces. This microscope delivers images with an extremely high axial resolution below 100 nm, which allows the observation of a variety of membrane-associated processes.

Super Resolution Optical Microscope

The super resolution optical microscope enables the visualization of fine features in samples with extreme clarity. The super resolution microscopes are very powerful as they allow clear observation of a vast amount of subcellular processes that cannot be visualized previously. This microscope offers unrivalled optical imaging beyond the diffraction limit, which enables it to resolve features down to 50nm in white light, depending on the sample.