Bruker - Laser confocal microscope
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Bruker - Laser confocal microscope


Bruker. USA


Live-Cell Imaging: Enabling 4D Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy


Opterra II Live-Cell Imaging: Enabling 4D Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy


Building on the swept-field confocal (SFC) technology of Bruker’s first-generation Opterra, the Opterra II system is the latest advancement in high-speed fluorescence microscopy designed specifically for live-cell studies. It utilizes proprietary one-dimensional pinhole array technology to combine the resolution of traditional confocal systems with the speed typically associated with wide-field imaging. With specialized input optics that produce a highly uniform field of view and a sensitive CCD camera for detection, the system produces quantitative data in all dimensions while ensuring cell viability. The user-selectable aperture sizes provide flexibility to achieve the optimal balance of speed, resolution, and fluorescence intensity in real time.


The Opterra II swept-field confocal microscope utilizes proprietary one-dimensional pinhole array technology to combine the resolution of traditional confocal systems with the speed typically associated with wide-field imaging.

With its short acquisition times and cell-protecting minimization of photobleaching and phototoxicity, Opterra II is ideal for advanced live-cell imaging.

 

Surpassing the Limitations of Spinning Disk Confocal


Bruker designed Opterra II to flexibly adjust speed, resolution, and fluorescence intensity based on experiment requirements. The Opterra II’s unique scanner design features a motorized aperture plate that contains pinholes of three different sizes, and slits of four different widths. The use of one-dimensional pinhole arrays offers significant advantages over systems based on two-dimensional arrays, such as spinning disk confocal microscopes. The Opterra array produces half, or less, of the crosstalk of a two-dimensional array, producing sharper images with superior optical sectioning and greater depth. Pinholes provide maximum resolution, while slits allow for higher speed acquisitions, and since aperture selection is controlled by software, optimally matching a selected aperture to each objective is very easy. 


Z-stack comparison of signal-to-noise ratio through a 200 um gel embedded with collagen fibers. Left: spinning disk system. Right: Opterra II. Sample courtesy of Brian Burkel, University of Wisconsin.





Uniform Sample Illumination and Emitted Light Detection

Opterra montage of a pancreas tumor

The Opterra II has been specifically designed to evenly illuminate the field of view. When measured by a beam profiler, beyond the pinhole aperture plate, the illumination beam shows 3% to 4% deviation across the field. The fluorescence that is emitted from the specimen must also be effectively transmitted though the imaging system to the camera. The Opterra II’s excellent and guaranteed field uniformity is a standard feature, works with multiple dichroics, and provides unparalleled quantitative performance right out of the box. For example, when fluorescence emission of a concentrated dye solution is measured at the camera, the deviation across the field is guaranteed to be less than 10%.


Low Phototoxicity and Photobleaching


The Opterra II is designed to control the dose of excitation light by minimizing the excitation light exposure time and delivering light to specific locations only when needed. The size of the confocal aperture and the exposure time can be adjusted within the software to minimize the excitation light appropriately for each sample. The optical path also has been optimized to ensure that emitted photons are efficiently transmitted to and collected by the detector. The Opterra II allows researchers to perform studies on highly sensitive samples not possible with other instruments, such as standard confocal microscopes, not only because specimens are kept alive, but because cellular function is maintained as close to biological conditions as possible.



Zebrafish embryo, 8 hour time lapse, 80 plane stacks every 5 minutes.


Ultrafast Imaging


Capture rapid physiological processes in real-time without missing fast transient events. The enhanced swept-field confocal scanning technology of the standard Opterra II allows for high-speed imaging at hundreds of frames per second. With an appropriate camera, over a thousand frames per second can be achieved.



125 frames per second imaging of Xenopus red blood cells in gills. Playback at 5x slow motion. Video courtesy of Vaughn Colleluori and Mustafa Khokha, Cold Spring Harbor Xenopus Course,Yale University.


Bruker - Laser confocal microscope

  • Brand: Bruker
  • Product Code: Bruker - Opterra II
  • Availability: In Stock
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