3D STED Super-resolution Confocal Microscope

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We apply for a high resolution microscope that allows the visualization of subcellular structures in living cells for the research laboratory of the main applicant, who recently accepted a call to the University of Cologne. The proposed instrumentation is the main instrument of the new laboratory and will be used exclusively for research. To understand life, it is very important to investigate dynamic processes in membranes like diffusion and molecular interactions directly in living cells. The main applicant is an international leading expert in the field of membrane organization and dynamics, for whom research using imaging at the single molecule level is essential. The instrument will be used to study the regulation of cell death, which is of critical relevance for tissue homeostasis, for several developmental processes as well as for inflammatory diseases and tumor formation. New methods for imaging in living cells will be developed in the context of a recently awarded Consolidator Grant of the European Research Council and three projects in SFB1403 and SFB1218. The proposed instrumentation will allow the applicant to continue successful research on membrane biophysics at the international level.The instrument will also be used on a regular basis by members of the Nephrolab in the CECAD Research Center who will use this device particularly with thick kidney sections (150-500 µm) to allow for 3D visualization of glomerular capillaries. Additional users from the CECAD Research Center and other Institutes of the University of Cologne will use this instrument on a collaborative basis to address specific questions in their research.