Optical Microscopy Core
Colored image of a pancreatic tumor cell degrading matrix.
Director: Mark A. McNiven, Ph.D.
The Optical Microscopy Core plays an essential role in supporting the overall goals of center members through three linked objectives:
- To provide reliable, accessible and state-of-the-art microscopic technology to all center members that facilitates their study of GI cellular signaling cascades
- To educate and train center members in the use of both basic and sophisticated cellular imaging methods
- To develop and apply state-of-the-art optical imaging technologies to GI tissues/cells
Services
Consults and training
- High-resolution, real-time imaging of live cells
- Confocal microscopy
- Confocal microscopy coupled with computer-based 3-D image reconstruction
- Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)
- Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP)
- Expression and use of fluorescence-based bioprobes
- Cellular microinjection
- Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF)
- Cell/tissue computer morphometry
- Imaging cells in 3-D matrix
- Data interpretation
- Gel degradation assay
Reagents
- Antibodies
- Constructs
- Cell lines