Nikon Imaging Center
University of Heidelberg
The Nikon Imaging Center (NIC@Uni-Heidelberg) is a core facility for light microscopy at the University of Heidelberg, developed in partnership with Nikon, Andor, PerkinElmer LAS, Laboratory Imaging (LIM), AHF Analysentechnik, Scientific Volume Imaging and Prior Scientific. The NIC provides all researchers of the Bio Sciences at the University with access and training to state-of-the-art light microscopy.
Equipment
- 1R confocal microscope of pointscanning type. With additional resonant scanner and 32-channel spectral detector.
- C2 confocal microscope of pointscanning type.
- N-SIM confocal + widefield microscope, super resolution microscope of the structured illumination type.
- TriM-Scope two photon confocal microscope with photomultiplier and CCD signal detection, extended IR rage, FLIM-detection.
- ERS-VoX confocal microscope of the spinning disk type. Allows acquisition of two channels simultaneously
- ERS-6 confocal microscope of the spinning disk type. With FRAP unit.
- TIRF Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence microscope with widefield and epifluorescence capabilities.
- NiE upright widefield research microscope with epifluorescence and DIC.
- BioStation widefield high content screening with phase contrast and epifluorescence.
- Ti-TuCam simultaneous 2 channel widefield imaging, epifluorescence and FLIM-detection.
- Ti-HCS advanced widefield high content screening with brightfield and epifluorescence illumination.
- AZ100 widefield zoom microscope 1 - 40x magnification, with epifluorescence illumination and DIC.
- SMZ1000 stereo microscope with epifluorescence illumination.
Contact
NIC Director
Ulrike Engel, Ph.D.
NIC Manager
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Address
Nikon Imaging CenterBioquant BQ 0004
Room U05
Im Neuenheimer Feld 267
D-69120 Heidelberg
Website
Systems Available
A1R Confocal Microscope System
The A1R features a "hybrid scanner" (two scanners in one scanning-head). A glavano scanner for low-noise images ranging in resolution from 64 x 64 up to 4096 x 4096 pixels and a resonant scanner that is capable of taking up to 30 full 512 x 512 pixel frames per second. Both scanners can be used in parallel: while the fast resonant scanner is acquiring images, the Galvano scanner may perform bleaching or activation of user-defined regions of interest.
TIRF Microscope with Widefield and Epifluorescence
The Nikon TIRF system with Nikon's H-TIRF module is an inverted and fully automated ECLIPSE Ti2 microscope with objective TIRF illumination. A Nikon Perfect Focus System (PFS of the 4th generation) is included that continuously determines the distance to the coverslip and readjusts it if necessary (to counteract thermal drift or vibrations). For live cell imaging of mammalian cells, the system is equipped with an on-stage incubation chamber from TokaiHit, controlling temperature, CO2 concentration, and humidity.
N-SIM Super-Resolution Microscope System
The Nikon N-SIM structured illumination microscope on an ECLIPSE Ti inverted microscope is equipped with 4 lasers (405, 488, 561, 640nm), covering a wide range of fluorescent dyes. The N-SIM approximately doubles the resolution of conventional optical microscopes (to around 100nm lateral and 200nm axial) by combining the "structured illumination microscopy" technology licensed from UCSF. The system allows a time-resolution of 1.66 frames/s.
AX Confocal Microscope System
With its increased FOV, sensitive GaAsP detectors, and up to 8k x 8k scanning, the AX confocal system includes innovative features powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that dramatically enhance usability for both veteran and novice users. Configured with Nikon's flagship inverted microscope, the ECLIPSE Ti2-E, the AX system is completely integrated using Nikon's NIS-Elements C imaging software package.
ECLIPSE Ti2 CrestOptics Spinning Disk Microscope
The ECLIPSE Ti2 CrestOptics system is a spinning disk confocal with 7 laser lines that allows to the user to remove the spinning disk so that it may also be used in widefileld. This system supports all capabilities of Nikon's NIS-Elements imaging software as well as Nikon's Perfect Focus System (PFS).
Ti2-HCS High Content Screening System
The Ti-HCS is a fully automated, inverted Nikon ECLIPSE Ti2 microscope made for high content screening tasks. The microscope is encased by a environmental box from OkoLab for temperature-, CO2- and humidity control. The "JOBS" software module in Nikon's NIS-Elements acquisition software makes it possible to screen in x/y, z, and t everything from a LabTek dish to a multiwell plate. Images can be taken in brightfield and epifluorescence.
ECLIPSE Ni-E Motorized Upright Microscope
The ECLIPSE Ni-E is a fully motorized high-end upright research microscope mainly meant to image fixed samples that are either fluorescently labeled, histologically stained, or untreated. Fluorescent samples can be imaged in superior quality with a low noise, high sensitive Nikon DS-Qi2 black and white camera. Five filter cubes in the excitation/emission range of DAPI, FITC, TRITC, Texas Red and Cy5 are available. Histological sections may be imaged with a Nikon DS-Ri2 color camera that offers resolutions of up to 4908 x 3264 pixels. Untreated samples, even thin unlabelled cells, can be visualized by using Differential Interference Contrast (DIC). The Ni-E has a motorized stage that allows for automatic stitching: Areas on a slide larger than the field that a given objective can image can be automatically captured as a series of frames, which are then seamlessly stitched together by the NIS-Elements acquisition software.
SMZ25 Stereo Microscope
The Nikon SMZ25 stereo microscope is a high-end, versatile optical instrument designed for advanced research applications, featuring a revolutionary zoom system and a large zoom range. The SMZ25 offers brightfield and epifluorescence illumination (X-Cite Xylis LED light source) in three channels: DAPI/EGFP/DsRed and provides exceptionally high-resolution images and a wide field of view, making it ideal for detailed, three-dimensional observations in fields like molecular biology, cell biology, neurobiology, embryology, developmental biology and systems biology.
SMZ1270 Stereo Microscope
The SMZ1270 is a stereo binocular with a Nikon Plan Apo 0.75 and a ED Plan 2X objective that can be used with epifluorescence (red and green excitation). The working distance is 107 and 35 mm. A zooming mechanism with a range from 0.63 to 8x is included (there is no camera or computer attached to this microscope).