Confocal and Specialized Microscopy

The Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource (CSMSR) provides advanced microscope systems for high-resolution, multidimensional optical imaging of living and fixed cells and tissues.  

Ph.D.-level staff support all stages of an imaging project: experimental design, instrument use, data analysis, and presentation of results.

Our technologies provide superior resolution, speed, and versatility. Our expert support helps you get results efficiently and reproducibly.


Technologies & Services Offered

  • Confocal imaging
    • Three 1-photon scanning confocal microscopes
    • Two 2-photon microscopes
    • Spinning-disk confocal microscope
    • Intravital (live-animal) 2-photon microscope
  • Super-resolution imaging
    • Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) 
    • Single-molecule 3D localization using stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM)
    • Image scanning microscopy (Airyscan)
  • Long-term live-cell imaging
  • Wide-field fluorescence and histology
    • Digital deconvolution
  • Laser capture, UV micro-irradiation
  • Plate reading
  • Image analysis and processing
    • Quantitative analysis
    • 3D rendering and animation
    • Custom analysis pipelines and coding
  • Imaging of user-prepared slides by core staff
  • Comprehensive consultation on experimental design, execution, and analysis

Application Examples

  • Large-area confocal imaging (e.g. tissue sections)
  • Long- and short-term time-lapse imaging of live cells, organoids, tissues, or small animals with environmental control
  • Photobleaching (FRAP, FLIP), photoactivation, targeted DNA damage
  • Automated scratch-wound assays for cell migration
  • Second-harmonic generation (SHG) imaging (e.g. detection of fibrosis, collagen fiber orientation)
  • Laser capture microdissection for DNA, RNA, or protein analysis
  • Image analysis
    • Cell counting and intensity measurements
    • Subcellular localization and colocalization
    • Cell and particle tracking
    • 3D volume rendering and movie production

User Policies and Fees

Whether you’re a new user or an existing user who is planning new experiments, please contact us(link sends e-mail)for a free consultationto discuss your experimental needs, sample preparation, and options for imaging.

After the consultation, you can request training on an instrument, or you may choose to be assisted at the microscope by a staff member.

For select projects, we provide Imaging Service, where you can provide samples for imaging by CSMSR staff. Please consult with us to find out if this service is appropriate for your imaging applications.

Appointments for imaging service or training should be requested at least 7 days in advance.

If your experiment requires an exception to any policy, please discuss it with the Technical Director. 

Hourly Rates

Note: Peak hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Reduced rates apply for overnight experiments.

Online Reservations

The CSMSR uses the iLab Core Management System for service requests, equipment scheduling, and billing. 

Introduction to iLab.

Microscopes and Supporting Equipment 

Accessories

  • Specialized objective lenses for TIRF, intravital imaging, and other applications
  • Cell culture room with laminar flow hood, cell culture incubator, water bath, and 4° refrigerator
  • Lab bench with dissecting microscope, analytical balance, microcentrifuge, vortexer, water bath, and hotplate
  • Stage-top incubators for temperature, humidity, and CO2 control during experiments
  • Autoscratch (Agilent) monolayer scratch wound generator
  • Microfluidics and perfusion equipment
    • Syringe pump
    • Peristaltic pump
    • CellAsic ONIX microfluidic system for mammalian cells, yeast, or bacteria on specialized plates
  • Animal procedure area with isoflurane anesthesia vaporizer, oxygen, warming pad, dissecting microscope

Image Analysis and Presentation

A Windows workstation with 256 GB RAM is available for image processing, analysis, and rendering. We provide consultation and training on analysis software. We also develop custom analysis workflows and scripts. Software includes:

  • Imaris 10
  • MATLAB
  • NIS Elements
  • ImageJ/Fiji, CellProfiler, QuPath, R, and other open-source software

Contact

Lasker Biomedical Research Building
3960 Broadway (Entrance on 166th St.)
3rd Floor, Room 320
New York, NY 10032
United States

Our Team

Acknowledgement and Co-authorship 

We expect that the Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource and its funding will be acknowledged in all publications that use our instruments, software, and/or expertise. This helps ensure our continued operation and acquisition of new instruments.

In addition, we welcome opportunities to provide significant intellectual and practical contributions that will lead to shared authorship.

How to cite us:

These studies used the Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, funded in part through the NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30CA013696.