Quantitative Fluorescence Light Microscopy in the Undergraduate Curriculum

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Through this project, the Biology Department is introducing quantitative light microscopy into the undergraduate curriculum. The department has developed a comprehensive plan to expose students to modern microscopy techniques with the use of a light microscopy workstation. This workstation exposes large numbers of students to modern fluorescence imaging techniques to study principles of cell and tissue organization and differentiation. The major equipment items are an Olympus IMT-2 inverted fluorescence microscope and Universal Imaging image analysis system. The Olympus IMT-2 inverted fluorescence microscope provides a highly versatile work platform. There are three major component parts to the image analysis system: (1) Metamorph Imaging System software and Pentium-based Workstation, (2) Princeton Instruments cooled camera with software, and (3) Textronix digital printer. The system software runs under Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher, making the system one of the easiest to use, even for undergraduate students. Metamorph's built-in processing and analysis tools allow one to acquire an image, then enhance its contrast, sharpen, deconvolute, reconstruct, and measure and quantify. Implementation of this project involves introducing a number of new laboratories in five different courses: Cell Biology, Histology, Developmental Biology, Endocrinology, and Introductory Biology.