News
24.07.2024
New cutting-edge microscope for in vivo imaging
The CCiTUB have a new multiphoton microscope, the Ultima 2Pplus (Bruker), which will significantly enhance the high-resolution and deep optical imaging services in vivo. The new microscope is installed at the Advanced Optical Microscopy Laboratory (MOA) laboratory of the CCiTUB, located at the Clinic Campus, and the in vivo imaging applications will be managed in coordination with the Animal Experimentation Unit of the CCiTUB, located in the same building where the instrument has been installed.
The new cutting-edge features of this sophisticated microscopi will significantly improve the research capabilities of our users, allowing for a more precise and detailed image at the cellular and molecular levels.
This new equipment will also contribute to the advancement of the Euro-BioImaging project, in which the University of Barcelona has been participating since January 2024 through the Scientific and Technological Centers, coordinating the 'Barcelona Live and Intravital- Advanced Light Microscopy Node' (BLIVIN), specialized in advanced microscopy of living cells and living animals. Additionally, the new service has also been added into the catalogue of the Biomodels and Biobanks Platform of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII).
Features
The new equipment allows for in vivo imaging at great depth, at the molecular, subcellular, and cellular resolution levels using fluorescent transgènic animals or intravenous fluorescent contrast agents. It also enables functional photo-stimulation assays such as optogenetics, glutamate release (uncaging), and photothermal and photochemical studies.
The system also facilitates second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging to study, for exemple, collagen in tumors or fibrosis in lungs and liver, as well as myosin in cardiac and skeletal muscles and neurons. Third-harmonic generation (THG) imaging is available for lipid studies and analysis of interfaces in tissues and organs.
The microscope can also examine thick samples such as organoids, spheroids, and transparent organs, and perform UV fluorochrome for lipid studies like Laurdan and Filipina.
Funding
This equipment has been fully funded with European funds in the 2021 call for the acquisition of scientific and technical equipment of the Next Generation EU Fund, Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Project EQC2021-007516-P, with an amount of €570,000.
Location
The Ultima 2Pplus equipment can be found in the Advanced Optical Microscopy Laboratory located on the Clínic campus (University of Barcelona - CCiTUB) and it will be soon available to users, with a test period starting now.