Spinning disk confocal for a core facility

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary A Yokogawa CSU-W1 SoRa spinning disk confocal microscope on an inverted Nikon microscope stand is requested for a heavily used core facility. The proposed instrument would address our needs to acquire large fields of high-resolution confocal data at high speeds, reduce photodamage of living cells, and resolve molecular level events. Not only would these new capabilities be vital for multiple live-cell/tissue studies, it would also replace our existing spinning disk confocal, which is obsolete. In our tests, the SoRa confocal revealed subcellular features of living cells not visible with other commercial super-resolution or confocal microscopes. The instrument's unique combination of exceptional signal to noise performance, large field of view, speed of imaging, and ease of use will provide an order of magnitude superior performance and support key NIH-funded projects.