The Leica TCS-SP8 confocal system is appropriate for imaging fixed samples and for live cell imaging. The system is also equipped with a tandem scanner ideal for fast live cell imaging, an environmental chamber with controlled temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration, and a software for imaging unlimited number of positions for multi-well projects (LAS X Navigator). More specifically, the technical characteristics of the system are:
- Automated scanning stage for acquisition of optical sections in Z axis
- Automated and coded disc for 6 objective lenses
- Flat apochromatic lenses of excellent quality, corrected to infinite and to UV. Dry lens: 10X (NA 0.4), 20X (NA 0.75), Oil-immersion lenses: 40X (NA 1.3) and 63X (NA 1.4).
- Head, equipped with flat ocular lenses 10X
- Halogen light source 12V, 100W for transmitted light applications.
- External Hg light source 120W for fluorescence applications, equipped with diaphragms for volume fluctuations and optical fibers for light transfer.
- Tandem scanner 8 kHz, which can perform in non-resonant and resonant mode (ideal for fast live cell imaging)
- Okolab environmental chamber with controlled temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration
The confocal scanning system contains:
- Scanning head for scanning with high analysis at a) xyz-axis, b) xzy-axis, c) temporal image scanning at xt, xyt, and xyzt, d) zoom between 1x and 64X and e) spectral scanning xλ, xyλ and xzλ. Image resolution up to 8192 x 8192 pixels, scan speed up to 1800 Hz
- Solid state laser, lines 405, 488, 514, 522, 638 nm
- Two photo-multipliers (PMTs) for confocal detection, a HyD3 detector of enhanced sensitivity and quantosome yield, and a PMT trans detector for phase-contrast detection. All these detectors have independent gain, offset and spectral position adjustments.
- The system’s software LAS X allows the full control of the confocal microscope, laser sources and scanning head, image acquisition and storage, 3D image reconstruction from serial optic sections, creation of time- lapse movies and image analysis.
- LAS X Navigator software for spiral scanning and imaging positions in multi-well projects.
The Leica TCS-SP8 confocal system was acquired through the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s Sponsorship 2016-2020 for a project titled: “Development of innovative Biological products and health services for infectious and neurodegenerative diseases” and its upgrading was funded by the ΒΙΟΙΜAGING-GR 2018-2020: “Hellenic Research Infrastructure for the Imaging and Observation of Fundamental Processes in Biology and Medicine” (MIS 5002755).