Bio-imaging techniques

This is a resource for Edinburgh researchers to see which Bioimaging techniques we can support within the membership of Edinburgh BioImaging. Many of our core facilities and technology resources have several imaging methods available. This page will help you find out what is available and where.

Spectroscopy lookin to the stars
List of techniques which are supported through Edinburgh Bioimaging

Our network is comprised of staff who have expertise in specific bioimaging techniques and core facilities. As a collective, we have a diverse range of equipment and expertise, enabling us to cover a huge breadth of Bioimaging techniques. While not all equipment is available in core facilities, our members are open to being approached for advice and collaboration. Some of us also participate in expert groups for specialised techniques that are open to new people.

Edinburgh Bioimaging has state-of-the-art facilities on all the university campuses, offering expertise in different modalities of light microscopy across Edinburgh:

  • Widefield microscopy
  • Confocal Microscopy
  • Super-resolution Microscopy - Structured Illumination, Single Molecule Localisation, STED
  • Mesoscopy - Stereo Microscopy
  • F-Techniques: FRET, FRAP, FLIP, FLIM
  • Multiphoton Microscopy

  • Histology and Multiplexing

AIR IGC Western General Hospital, CMVM

IRR Imaging Suite (IRRIS), BioQuarter, CMVM,

SuRF Histology and Imaging, QMRI, BioQuarter - CMVM

CALM, QMRI,BioQuarter, CMVM

UK Zebrafish Imaging and Screening facility Chancellors Building, BioQuarter, CMVM

IMPACT  HRB George Square, CMVM

Roslin BioImaging and Flow, Roslin, Easter Bush, CMVM

Light Microscopy Core (formerly COIL, part of DRP-HCB), WTCCB, Kings Buildings

LSM3D Light-Sheet Microscopy and 3D image analysis, HRB George Square, CMVM

Histology and multiplexing, IRR south, Bioquarter - Little France, CMVM


Light-sheet microscopy or Ultramicroscopy, stands out for its efficient and gentle 3D imaging of large samples, such as an entire mouse, compared to conventional epifluorescent microscopy techniques like widefield or confocal.

In light-sheet microscopy, a transparent specimen is illuminated from the side with a thin light sheet. This technique allows for quick optical sectioning and minimal out-of-focus illumination. Photobleaching is reduced, and imaging speed is increased due to the exclusion of out-of-focus light through a pinhole. Modified from Dodt et al. 2007.

Edinburgh Bioimaging has two state-of-the-art facilities offering expertise in light-sheet microscopy:


Edinburgh Bioimaging has facilities on all the university campuses offering expertise in different modalities of electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy:

Transmission Electron Microscopy

Scanning Electron Microscopy

Volume Electron microscopy

Cryo EM

Atomic Force Microscopy

Optical Trapping

XRay microscopy

For TEM/SEM processing and imaging and larger serial block-face projects, please contact 3D Electron Microscopy Specialist Dr Jon Moss at jonathan.moss@ed.ac.uk.


Edinburgh Bioimaging state-of-the-art flow cytometry facilities across Edinburgh:

Bioimaging and Flow Cytometry, The Roslin Institute, CMVM

IRR Flow Cytometry and cell sorting facility, Bioquarter - Little France, CMVM

Flow cytometry at IGC, Western General Hospital, CMVM

SURF, Bioquarter - Little France, CMVM

Flow cytometry core facility, King's Building


High Content Screening

Spatial Transcriptomics

Plant Bioimaging

Optical Tweezers

CARS / RAMAN

 


Edinburgh Bioimaging  offers expertise in different modalities of image analysis:

Fiji / Image J

QuPath

ARIVIS

IMARIS

QUINT

 

For expert advice and training, contact your local facility:

Central area:

  • IMPACT  HRB George Square
  • LSM3D Light-Sheet Microscopy and 3D image analysis, HRB George Square

Bioquarter:

Western General:

  • AIR IGC Western General Hospital

Roslin

King's Building:

 


Widefield microscopy is an imaging technique where the whole sample is illuminated, and the emitted light is observed through the microscope's eyepiece or captured by a camera.

Widefield imaging captures all the light, producing 2D images rapidly.

Advantages:

  • Fast image acquisition and low cost.

Disadvantages:

  • Low spatial resolution images due to the out-of-focus light (low axial resolution and blurred images).
  • Unsuitable for colocalization analysis

In confocal microscopy, the illumination and detection optics are focused on the same spot, which is moved over the sample to build a 3D image (optical sectioning). While the entire field of view is illuminated during imaging, anything outside the focal plane (out-of-focus light) is excluded through a pinhole (Minsky, 1957). Modified from Jonkman, J., 2020.

Confocal microscopy only captures images of the in-focus plane.

Advantages:

  • High-resolution / high-contrast images (high axial resolution and sharp images)
  • Optical sectioning
  • Colocalization and quantitative analysis

Disadvantages:

  • Low image acquisition speed
  • High photobleaching and high cost

This article was published on