Manchester Bioimaging Facility orders three confocal microscope systems

In response to increasing demand for its state-of-the-art imaging services, the Bioimaging Facility at the University of Manchester has ordered three new Nikon eC1 confocal microscopes.

Two of these will also be equipped with EMCCD monochrome digital cameras, offering single photon sensitivity, allowing the Bioimaging Facility to add TIRF to the impressive array of techniques it makes accessible to the Faculty of Life Sciences and external organisations.

One of the confocal systems will be attached to a Nikon Eclipse 90i upright microscope, while the other two will be fitted to TE2000E inverted motorised microscopes, making them ideal for a wide range of advanced live-cell imaging techniques. These inverted microscopes will also be equipped with Nikon’s perfect focus system (PFS) to eliminate drift during time lapse observations.

According to Dr Peter March Bioimaging Experimental Officer, “The PFS has to represent one of the most useful additions to any live cell imaging microscope. Contrast-based autofocus is just not an option in rapid live cell imaging. For TIRF, maintaining a stable focal plane is critical - any drift during the experiment will make the data meaningless. With PFS, once you set that focal plane it stays in focus and doesn't move.”

Before investing in the new Nikon microscopes and confocal systems the Bioimaging Facility compared their optics and performance against competitive systems. Dr March recalls, “We soon realised that the quality of the Nikon optics was very good indeed. The systems performed well in our evaluations and the complete package offered was by far the best in terms of price and performance”.