Microscopes at LCI

The Live Cell Imaging Core Facility offers high-end microscopes allowing researchers to perform the following microscopy modalities:

Below are the details for each microscope.

Tweety

Nikon Ti2 microscope with CREST spinning disk

This system can be used as 

  • Multipoint spinning disk confocal
  • Widefield
  • Micropatterning (printing proteins on a dish) and micromanufacturing (making microwells)

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon Ti2 inverted and fully motorized microscope stand with up to 32 mm FOV
  • Crest Optics X-Light V3 spinning disk (50 um pinholes with 250 um interval)
  • Full size incubator for life cell imaging
  • Fast piezo z drive 100 um
  • High content screening JOBS module
  • Smart Microscopy workflows using JOBS
  • Kinetix sCMOS camera over 95% QE, 6.5 um pixels for best resolution
  • Alvéole Primo micropatterning and micromanufacturing device

Filters for both Widefield and Spinning disk

Tweety widefield and spinning disk: Semrock searchlight

  • Lasers (nm):
    • 405, 446, 477, 520, 546, 638 and 749
  • Dichroic mirrors (nm):
    • 441/30; 511/26; 593/37; 684/34; 817/66
    • 484/22; 561/30
    • 562LP
  • Emission filters (nm):
    • Penta band: 446/53; 521/34; 593/40; 685/49; 819/91
    • Single bands:
      • 438/24
      • 515/30
      • 562/40
      • 593/40
      • 685/40
      • 561LP
      • 809/81
    • Dual band: 484/22; 561/30

Pegasus

This system can be used as

  • Single point scanning confocal with resonant scanner for fast imaging and spectral detector for channel unmixing
  • Wide field with color, monochrome, and polarized light imaging

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon Ti2-E inverted and fully motorized microscope stand
  • Stage top incubator
  • Resonant scanner
  • Fast piezo z drive (100 um range)
  • High content screening JOBS module
  • Smart Microscopy workflows using JOBS
  • 2x tunable GaAsP detectors (400-750 nm)
  • 1 Multi Alkali PMT detector (blue)
  • 1 Extended Red GaAsP detector (Far Red, NiR)
  • Spectral detector
  • Digital Sight 10 CMOS colour camera from Nikon, 25 mm FOV, 5.97 pixel size and a built-in 1.8x lens

Lasers and dichroic mirrors to Ax confocal

  • Lasers (nm):
    • 405; 488; 561; 638 and 730
  • First dichroic mirror:
    • 405/488/561/640/730
    • 405/488/561/640
    • BS20/80 (400-750)

Emission filters specific to the Ax confocal detectors

Dragon

This system can be used as

  • Single point scanning confocal with resonant scanner for fast imaging and spectral detector for channel unmixing
  • NSPARC super-resolution (100 nm)

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon Ti2-E inverted and fully motorized microscope stand
  • Stage top incubator
  • Resonant scanner
  • Fast piezo z drive (100 um range)
  • High content screening JOBS module
  • Smart Microscopy workflows using JOBS
  • 2x tunable GaAsP detectors (400-750 nm)
  • 1 Multi Alkali PMT detector (blue)
  • 1 Extended Red GaAsP detector (Far Red, NiR)
  • Spectral detectors
  • NSPARC detector (Single Photon Avalanche Diode)

Lasers and dichroic mirrors 

  • Lasers (nm):
    • 405; 445; 488; 514; 561; 638 and 730
  • First dichroic mirror:
    • 405/488/561/640/730
    • 405/488/561/640
    • 405/445/515/561/640
    • BS20/80 (400-750)
    • 445/515/561

Emission filters specific to the Ax confocal detectors

  • Multi Alkali PMT detector:
    • Cube1: DM: 495LP; Em: 452/45
    • Cube2: DM: 550/300, 750LP; Em: 445/50, 675/30
    • Cube3: DM: 515/LP; Em: 482/35
  • Extended Red GaAsP detector:
    • Cube1: DM: 640SP; Em: 700/75
    • Cube2: DM: 724SP; Em: 740LP

Dragon Ax: filters and lasers setup on the Semrock Searchlight.

Emission filters specific to the NSPARC detector

  • Quad band: 446/33; 524/42; 600/36; 677/28
  • Single bands:
    • 452/45
    • 482/35
    • 525/50
    • 540/30
    • 593/46
    • 700/75
    • 750LP

Dragon Ax - NSPARC: Filter and lasers setup on the Semroch Searchlight

Orion

Photo: LCI facility

This system can be used as

  • Multipoint spinning disk confocal
  • Widefield
  • Super resolution - DeepSIM

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon Ti2 inverted and fully motorized microscope stand
  • Crest Optics X-Light V3 spinning disk (50 um pinholes with 250 um interval)
  • Super resolution (DeepSIM) ( approximately 100 nm resolution in xy and approximately 300nm resolution in z (60x or100x oil objective); 1024x1024 FOV
  • Fast piezo z drive 600 um
  • High content screening JOBS module
  • Smart Microscopy workflows using JOBS
  • Camera from Photometrics,  Kinetix sCMOS, over 95% QE, 6.5 um for best resolution

Filters, lasers and dichroic mirrors

Orion spinning disk/widefield/DeepSIM Semrock searchlight

  • Lasers (nm):
    • 405, 445, 488, 555, 638 and 735
  • Dichroic mirror (nm):
    • 446/60; 522/43; 595/49; 684/55; 812/113
    • 443/6; 490/4 (Dual)
  • Emission filters (nm):
    • Penta-band: 446/53; 521/34; 593/40; 685/49; 819/91
    • Single-band:
      • 438/24
      • 470/24
      • 515/30
      • 535/50
      • 593/40
      • 685/40
      • 809/81

Victor

This system can be used as

  • Multipoint spinning disk confocal
  • Widefield
  • TIRF

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon Ti2 inverted and fully motorized microscope stand
  • Full size incubator for life cell imaging
  • Fast piezo z drive 250 um
  • High content screening JOBS module
  • Smart Microscopy workflows using JOBS
  • Widefield:
    • Andor camera Zyla 4.2+. 82% QE, 100 fps at 2048x2048 pixels. Pixel size 6.45 um
    • External filter wheel and SpectraX LED for fast imaging
  • Spinning disk: Kinetix sCMOS, over 95% QE, 6.5 um pixel size
    • Spinning disk Yokagawa CSU-X1, 10,000 rpm
    • 1.2x built-in extra magnification lens in the spinning disk

Filters, lasers and dichroic mirrors on the spinning disk confocal side

Victor multipoint confocal: Semrock searchlight

  • Lasers (nm): 405; 488; 561 and 640
  • Dichroic mirror (nm):
    • 405; 488; 561; 640
  • Emission filters (nm):
    • Single bands:
      • 447/60
      • 525/30  
      • 607/36
      • 685/40
    • Dual band:
      • 512/30; 630/100
    • Triple band:
      • 525 600 690 

Filters and dichroic mirrors on the widefield side

Victor widefield: Semrock searchlight

  • Excitation filters (nm):
    • 395/25
    • 438/29
    • 475/28
    • 510/25
    • 550/15
    • 575/25
    • 631/28
  • Dichroic mirror (nm):
    • Quad band: 430/40; 515/50; 598/55; 650LP
  • Emission filters (nm):
    • Single bands:
      • 447/60
      • 483/32
      • 500LP
      • 525/30
      • 542/27
      • 572/15
      • 607/36
      • 624/40
      • 630/92
      • 685/40 

Aurora

This system can be used as

  • Light sheet microscope

Equipment specifications

  • Upright
  • Full size incubator for life cell imaging
  • Fully motorized including xy scanning size of a multiwell plate
  • z fast beam scanning 900 um, additional stage scanning 1 cm
  • No shadowing effect thanks to the self-healing Airy beam
  • < 1um xy and z resolution with a field of view of 870x870 um
  • Tiling/stitching, multiple sample or regions
  • Dedicated deconvolution software running on GPU power
  • 2  Hamamatsu Orca Flash cameras 4 V.3, 82% QE, 100 fps at 2048x2048 pixels. Pixel size 6.45 um
  • Objective: Navitar multi-immersion: 15.3x – 17.9x; NA 0.37-0.43.
  • Refraction index: 1.33-1.56 without changing objectives
  • All immersion media can be used for imaging
  • Working distance 12mm

How to calculate the objective NA and magnification

  • NA=0.276xRI
  • Mag=11.494xRI
  • WD = constant for all RI

Lasers (nm)

  • 405 (60 mW); 457 (100 mW); 488 (100 mW); 515 (100 mW); 561 (80 mW); 642 140 mW) and 685 (50 mW)

Filters and dichroic mirrors

Aurora light sheet: Semrock searchlight

  • Dichroic mirrors (nm):
    • 510 LP and 560 LP
  • Emission filters (nm):
    • Single bands:
      • 445/50
      • 480/30
      • 525/50
      • 535/30
      • 590LP
      • 605/52
      • 665LP
      • 667/30
      • 700LP (nm)

A powerful server is available for fast transfer/storage/deconvolution/stitching/analysis.

Minerva

  • This system can be used as

  • Widefield
  • Slide scanner
  • Laser microdissection
    • Laser microdissection of tissue samples
    • Selective Isolation of living Cells for Omics Analysis
    • Isolation of rare or single cells for further cultivation

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon Ti2 inverted and fully motorized microscope stand
  • MMI VCXU23c colour camera, 5.86 μm pixel size
  • MMI CellCut 

Filters cubes and dichroic mirrors for widefield

Minerva widefield: Semrock searchlight

  • Cube 1 (Blue): Ex: 365/10; DM: 400LP; Em: 460/50
  • Cube 2 (Green): Ex: 470/40; DM: 495LP; Em: 515/30
  • Cube 3 (Red): Ex: 544/25; DM: 565LP;  Em: 605/70
  • Cube 4 (Far Red): Ex: 628/40; DM: 660LP;  Em: 692/40

Iris

Nikon manual microsocpe

This system can be used as: 

  • Widefield

Equipment specifications

  • Nikon ECLIPSE E1000
  • Manual, upright
  • Nikon DS-Fi2 color camera, 2560x1920 pixel, pixel size 6.5 um
  • Available objectives: 1x air (NA 0.04), 10x air (0.45), 20x air (0.75), 40x (0,95)

Fluorescent Light source: 

  • Nikon Mercury lamp

Filters and dichroic mirrors for Widefield 

Cube 1 (Blue): Ex: 360/40; DM: 400LP; Em: 450/50

Cube 2 (Green): Ex: 480/30; DM: 505LP; Em: 535/40

Cube 3 (Red): Ex: 546/10; DM: 575LP; Em: 590LP

Theia

Olympus manual microsocpe
Nikon manual microsocpe Photo: Jianjiang Hu

This system can be used as: 

  • Widefield

Equipment specifications

  • Olympus IX71
  • Manual, inverted
  • Hamamatsu C4742-80-12AG monocolor cooled camera (-30 degree), 1344x1024 pixel, pixel size 6.45 um
  • Available objectives: 10x air (0.25), 20x air (0.4), 40x (0,75)

Fluorescent Light source: 

  • X-Cite 120

Filters  and dichroic mirrors for Widefield 

Cube 1 (Blue): Ex: 350/50; DM: 400LP; Em: 460/50

Cube 2 (Green): Ex: 480/40; DM: 505LP; Em: 535/40

Cube 3 (Red): Ex: 565/30; DM: 575LP; Em: 624/40

Cobe 4 (Far Red): Ex: 620/60; DM: 660LP; Em: 700/75

Content reviewer:
Gabriela Imreh
19-01-2026