New users must first create an account. Your lab/group will need an account also if completely new to the shared resource.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Fill out a training request form. Once trained we'll activate the scopes you can access. You'll see workstations as they can be accessed without training.
How you plan to grow and image your cells will determine which type of dish to use. If you want to grow your cells on a coverslip, glass bottom dishes by MatTek are a good choice. They have a #1.5 coverslip built in and are perfect for imaging on an inverted microscope. If you are planning on imaging with an upright microscope with a dipping objective, cell may be grown in solution or on a membrane or filter in a 6 well plate.
Anyone of the core personnel can answer your questions concerning your imaging needs. You can find out more about our areas of expertise in our About Us page.
Or email the whole team.
In choosing a fluorophores for your imaging, you need to consider which will give the best signal while minimizing "cross-talk or bleed-through" artifacts. Here are a some links which can help you determine what works best for your needs:
Leica overview of fluorescent dyes
https://www.leica-microsystems.com/science-lab/fluorescent-dyes/
ThermoFisher page on fluorophore selection
https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-analysis/fluorophores.html
Spectral Viewers:
https://www.fpbase.org/spectra/
https://www.aatbio.com/spectrum/
https://searchlight.semrock.com/
Examples on FPbase
Three average dyes
Four channel including bright stable Alexa dyes
Live Cell Three Color
2x FPs + 1x live cell dye (SNAP tag etc.)
Rates are found at the bottom of our Services page.
Yes, there are subsidies offered by Winship Cancer Center and the Pediatric Research Alliance. See Subsidy Policies section of our Resources page for details. Contact us ici@emory.edu if you have any questions.
The type of microscope to be used is determined by your specific experiments. The questions on the training request form help us guide you. They include whether you need brightfield or fluorescence, the fluorophores you plan to use, and if your sample is live or fixed, etc. The ICI team will work with you to determine the best instrument, and please do reach out for consultations as early as possible in your experimental design: ici@emory.edu
Most of our objectives are specifically designed for 0.17mm thick glass coverslips (#1.5H). Using #1 or #2 coverslips will lead to dramatically reduced image quality and spherical aberations. Lower magnification air objectives, e.g. 10X or 20X, are less sensitive to the glass thickness requirements. Some objectives on our Lionheart FX are capable of imaging through plastic, but they are the exception. For more information please go here.
Yes, we welcome outside use of our facility. Non-Emory users should contact us at ici@emory.edu for more information.
Sessions must be cancelled 16 hours in advance. If you cancel your session within 16 hours or less of your start time, you will be charged unless: 1) you rebook on the same day in the same "period" (periods are working hours 8am-6pm or after hours), 2) someone else books the time or 3) someone else uses the time. If you cancel after the 16 hour cut-off because of experimental reasons, please submit a request to have the charge waived. For more information see our Policies.
Mounting medium helps preserve your sample and often protects against photobleaching. Prolong Gold from Molecular Probes and Fluoromount-G (anti-fade) from Southern Biotech are examples of popular mounting media. We advise against media with DAPI, propidium iodide, and every other fluorophore in general.
When you are finished imaging, the microscope area should be clean of all oil, papers, and spills. The objectives should be carefully cleaned and all oil removed using lens paper.
If you break a slide or coverslip on the microscope, pick up the pieces that you are able to and place them in a glass disposal box. If some of the pieces have gone down beneath the stage you will need to get the ICI person in charge of that microscope to help clean it out. In either case you must tell the person in charge what happened so that they can remove any possible glass from the objective.
Yes, IACUC approval is required to image live animals. For detailed information on the IACUC proposal contact the IACUC team.
No, we are not a BSL3 facility. Please fix your pathogenic specimens before bringing them to the ICI core. In certain cases we can work with you and EHSO to determine a protocol that's safe for all parties. Reach out to discuss the potential options before bringing anything that caries any biosafety risk ici@emory.edu.
No, please ensure that you do not include any patient information along with saved files on ICI computers.
