Leica STELLARIS 8 FALCON

Inverted laser scanning confocal microscope with multiphoton (NLO) laser The Leica STELLARIS 8 Spectral confocal microscope offers maximum flexibility in both choosing an excitation wavelength and detecting a fluorophore's emission. Our system has 5 Power HyD detectors, providing high sensitivity across a broad spectral range. The While Light Laser (WLL) combined with Leica's proprietary Acousto-Optical Beam Splitter (AOBS), enables the use of up to 8 simultaneous independent laser lines. The WLL allows you to choose any excitation wavelength between 440 and 790 nm. When combined with the Power HyD R detector, you can detect fluorophores in the near infrared range such as Cy7. The STELLARIS 8 FALCON is an integrated system for fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). This is the first instrument in the BIF with this capability. FLIM measures a photo-physical property of fluorophores independent from fluorescent intensity that can be used to improve Förster (Fluorescence) Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) experiments. Leica's TauSense uses fluorescence lifetime to provide a measure of contrast (TauContrast) that is independent from fluorescent intensity. The TauSense imaging tools include TauContrast, TauGating which uses differences in average photon arrival time to remove unwanted background and TauSeparation for multiplexing using differences in fluorescence lifetime. This confocal is on a fully motorized Leica DMi 8 inverted microscope. With the Resonant scanner this microscope can scan images at high speed, comparable to that of a spinning disc confocal. The LIGHTNING module allows for super-resolution microscopy. Our Coherent multiphoton/two-photon laser (MP, a category of nonlinear optics, NLO) allows for deeper imaging of tissues. The STELLARIS 8 DIVE provides an integrated system for deeper imaging though our system does not have the 4Tune detectors. The tiling function in the Leica LAS X software and the motorized stage allows one to collect multiple images across a large field of view using a high magnification objective. The black Okolab cage incubator allows for very light sensitive applications such as two-photon imaging, FLIM and Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS). The Power HyD X in Position 4 is the most sensitive detector and is specialized for FLIM and FCS imaging. The Okolab incubation chamber provides complete environmental control: Regulating CO₂, O₂, humidity and temperature. This microscope was installed March  2021. Location: Beckman Institute Basement Room B131A.

•    Inverted microscope has the STELLARIS 8 Scanhead with 5 Power HyD detectors and 1 detector for transmitted light.
•    Two sets of scanning mirrors: standard for larger frame sizes and 8000K Resonant scanner for high speed imaging.
•    2 Lasers (1P): 405 DMOD and a pulsed Supercontinuum White Light Laser (WLL).
•    Coherent Chameleon multiphoton (2P) Laser tunable laser
•    Motorized X,Y stage and Z focus.
•    Incubation chamber from Okolab regulates CO₂, O₂, temperature and humidity.
•    AFC (Automatic Focus Control) is Leica's implementation of auto-focus.
•    5 Power HyD detectors of 3 types in the following positions: Position 1, HyD S; Position 2, HyD S; Position 3, HyD S SP; Position 4, HyD X; Position 5, HyD R.

Technical Specifications: Scope: Leica DMI 8 inverted microscope.
Laser Lines: 405 nm, Tunable white light laser, Wavelength Range: 440-790 nm, Total Average Power: ≥ 6 W, Visible Power: 1200 mW. Tunable 2P Laser 720-1020 nm
OS/Software: Windows 10 Enterprise, LAS (Leica Application Suite) X
Removable Media:   DVD Burner, USB ports, Network Access.