Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Cell Imaging Core

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
What the facility does

Offers access to, and training for, state-of-the-art quantitative light and electron microscopy

Areas of expertise

The Cell Imaging Core is a shared resource lab that provides services and training for light and electron microscopy and a wide range of cutting-edge image acquisition equipment. We consult on microscopy experimental design and offer full technical assistance – from sample processing through image analysis – on a wide range of equipment. We support experiments using basic widefield fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy, and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, and offer super resolution microscopy in the form of structured illumination microscopy and single molecule localisation microscopy. Additionally, we provide expertise in both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Dynamic studies can be undertaken using live cell imaging on many of our resources.

In addition to instrument access and software services, we offer a comprehensive training program that includes theoretical training, hands-on training, and monthly workshops on advanced topics in biomedical imaging and regular commercial product demonstrations.

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry also offers a Flow Cytometry Facility and a Lipidomics Core Facility.

Research services
  • Core staff assisted or self-use of microscopy resources, image acquisition
  • Comprehensive hands-on training for each piece of equipment
  • Regular theoretical courses
  • Advanced training for super resolution
  • Assistance with development and optimization of imaging experiments and methods
  • Assistance with experimental design
  • Software for data analysis
  • Software training and analysis assistance
  • Consistent and extensive instrumentation quality control
Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Healthcare and social services
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
EquipmentFunction
Spinning Disk Confocal MicroscopeExcitation possible at 405nm, 440nm, 491nm, 561nm, 640nm. Yokogawa CSU-X1 spinning disc head. Hamamatsu C-9100-13 EMCCD. Volocity Acquisition software, motorized stage/microscope. Temperature/gas/humidity controlled chamber enables live cell imaging. 20/40/60 lenses. IX-81 inverted microscope.
Spinning Disk Confocal MicroscopeExcitation possible at 405nm, 440nm, 491nm, 561nm, 640nm. Yokogawa CSU-10 spinning disc head. Hamamatsu C-9100-13 EMCCD. Volocity Acquisition software, motorized stage/microscope. Temperature/gas/humidity controlled chamber enables live cell imaging. 20/40/60 lenses. IX-81 inverted microscope.
Leica TCS SP5 confocal laser scanning microscope3 standard PMTs, 2 HyD detectors. 405nm, 458nm, 476nm, 488nm, 496nm, 514nm, 543nm, 633nm excitation. AOBS system. DMI6000B inverted microscope.
Zeiss Axio Observer.Z1 inverted fluorescence microscopeLED illumination at 365, 470, 555, and 640nm for four-color experiments. HRm CCD camera. 20/40/63X lenses. Zeiss Zen for acquisition. 2.5X lens for large overviews. Color camera for histological specimen imaging.
Leica DMI6000 inverted microscopeWidefield fluorescence microscope with standard 4 color imaging, navigator functionality, Thunder image processing.
GE Healthcare OMX V4 BlazeProvides widefield deconvolution microscopy and super resolution using structured illumination microscopy. 405nm, 488nm, 561nm and 642nm excitation. Ring TIRF, 3X sCMOS cameras for fast live cell simultaneous live cell imaging. Environmental control for live cell imaging.
Hitachi H-7650 TEMThis transmission electron microscope (TEM) can achieve 70X to 200,000X magnification with high contrast mode at 40 to 120 kv accelerating voltage. Maximum of 500,000X magnification in high-resolution mode. The 16-megapixel EMCCD camera mounted at the low-mount position (Advanced Microscopy Techniques) of the TEM generates very high-quality images of ultrastructure.
Leica UC7 UltramicrotomeWith FC7 attachment for Cryo sectioning.
Leica EM TP Auto Tissue Processor 
Leica ACE600 Carbon EvaporatorAlso sputter coater.
Leica CPC Plunge FreezerFor cryo fixation and preparation.
Zeiss Axioscan.Z1 Slide ScannerWhole Slide Imager. Digitizes the entire sample on a slide. Captures both brightfield or fluorescence (5 channel) images.
Zeiss Elyra 7 with Lattice SIM² Super-Resolution MicroscopeStructured Illumination Microscopy (SIM). 405nm, 488nm, 561nm and 642nm excitation. Two duolinked sCMOS cameras for fast, 2-channel simultaneous acquisition. Can also acquire 4 channels sequentially. Environmental control for live cell imaging.
Thermo Scientific Helios 5 CX DualBeam (FIB-SEM)Focused Ion Beam (FIB) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Powerful imaging system that provides high-resolution imaging and precise nanoscale fabrication capabilities. Equipped with advanced features, such as a gas injection system, detectors for backscattered electrons and secondary electrons. Ability to produce three-dimensional images of samples with intricate structures at the nanometer scale.
Leica THUNDER 3D Deconvolution Widefield MicroscopeDetects and removes out-of-focus background for each image. Motorized stage, K8 monochrome sCMOS (scientific Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor), wide field imaging with ICC (instant computational clearing) for up to 8 channels, DIC (differential interference contrast), Brightfield, polarized light.
Leica STELLARIS 8 confocal microscopeTrue confocal point scanning system, 405 nm diode laser, white light laser (excitable range 440 nm to 790 nm), Acousto-Optical Beam Splitter (AOBS), 3 HyD S detectors and 2 HyD X detectors, each equipped with spectral detection and TauSense technology, transmitted light PMT (photomultiplier tube).