Spinning Disc Confocal Laser Microscope

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Microscopical imaging of biological specimens represents a crucial component of a variety of research disciplines ranging from molecular and cell biology to physiology. Spinning disk confocal laser microscopy is used to visualize intracellular structures based on the emission of fluorescence light. This type of microscopy is particularly well suited for imaging rapid intracellular movements of organelles and ions and for visualizing samples with low light intensity - typical features of living cells. The Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (IRBV) is part of the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Montreal and is equipped with a relatively old, conventional confocal laser scanning microscope, but the researchers using this facility do not have access to the equipment required for the advanced needs associated with live cell imaging. Numerous emerging research projects require high quality, fluorescence based imaging methods and the acquisition of a spinning disk confocal laser microscope would accomplish both - alleviate the pressure on the existing confocal and meet the needs of the more advanced users for high sensitivity and high temporal resolution.