Biophotonics Core

    The Biophotonics and Imaging Core Facility will provide cutting edge technology for the study and manipulation of biological samples using light. Key applications provided by the proposed core will include optical trapping (optical tweezers), photoactivation and photolysis. A state-of-the-art inverted confocal by Zeiss, complete with oxygen and temperature control, will permit long-term live cell microscopy experiments to be performed. The latter system will include multi-photon capabilities to allow in-depth imaging of live, sectioned or whole intact tissues and will include technology to probe at the molecular level for protein-protein interactions (FRET) within live samples. Other applications of the core will include laser micro-dissection that permits the highly precise excision of biological tissues for a large variety of experimental purposes such as PCR, real-time PCR, transplantation and adoptive transfer, and flow cytometry.

    In addition to the instrumentation, the Biophotonics Core will also provide the theoretical knowledge and applied training in both instrumentation and data analysis to ensure that the full potential of core technology is realized. The core will partner with the Computational Biology Initiative (CBI) to create a data acquisition and analysis pipeline that ensures a streamlined and seamless workflow for researchers. For more information about the proposed Biophotonics core, please contact Colleen Witt at ext 7043.