Flow cytometry and Bioimaging facilities at the NHC
- Beckman Coulter MoFlo Astrios EQ flow cytometer.
- Leica DMi8 fluorescence microscope.
- Leica TCS SP8 SMD laser scanning confocal microscope.
- Renishaw inVia Qontor confocal Raman microscope.
These facilities are used for internal and external research projects, as well as contract research projects with Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, and Quorn Foods.
MoFlo Astrios EQ flow cytometer - Capabilities
MoFlo Astrios EQ at NHC is a high-speed flow cytometer from Beckman Coulter, enabling both cell characterisation and cell sorting.
- Sterile cell sorting in class II biological safety cabinet.
- Three spatially separated lasers (405nm, 488nm, and 640nm lasers).
- 15 optical parameters (12 fluorescence, 2 forward and 1 side scatters).
- Sort live cells for downstream studies.
- Allowing 6 independent populations to be sorted simultaneously.
- Direct sorting into tubes, microplates, or onto microscopic slides.
- Single cell sorting.
Applications: bulk and single cell sorting, viral infectivity assay, immunophenotyping, apoptosis assay, cell cycle analysis, cellular protein quantification, and more...
Leica SP8 confocal microscope - Capabilities
Leica TCS SP8 SMD is a laser scanning confocal microscope, capable of imaging both live and fixed samples, in 2D/3D at high speed and resolution.
- White light laser with 448nm, 488nm, 552nm, 638nm laser lines.
- Pulsed laser: 405nm.
- Objectives: 10x, 20x, 63x (water lens)
- A Leica HyD detector for high-sensitivity imaging and photon counting.
- Sequential scan to minimize spectral overlapping.
- Imaging optimisation with Leica Lightning adaptive deconvolution.
Application: Protein subcellular localisation, co-localisation, fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), and more...
Leica DMi8 fluorescence microscope - Capabilities
Leica DMi8 is an inverted widefield microscope for fluorescence imaging.
- Objectives: 5x, 10x, 20x, 100x (oil lens)
- SOLA light engine with red, green, and blue filters.
- LAS X Navigator for fast overview and spiral scan.
Application: 2D/3D imaging for fixed or live biological samples.
Renishaw inVia Qontor confocal Raman microscope - Capabilities
Raman spectroscopy is a label-free technique that is used to identify and quantify chemical composition in samples including cells and tissues. Each compound has a unique Raman scattering profile, called Raman fingerprint.
- Enclosed Leica confocal microscope (objectives: 5x, 20x, 50x, 60x and 100x).
- Two lasers: 532nm and 785nm.
- Optimum focus is maintained automatically in real time during data collection.
- Point-by-point and line-focus mapping.
Application: Chemical composition and spatial mapping in biological samples and other materials.