Seeing is believing: UIC Fluorescence Imaging Core shines light on biological processes
Capturing images of small-scale molecular interactions and protein dynamics often requires greater sensitivity and contrast than can be attained with conventional transmitted light microscopy. Fluorescence imaging light microscopy (FLIM) is a technique that uses high intensity light sources and fluorescent tagging to visualize specific molecular targets in live cells and organisms in real-time.
This technique detects light (fluorescence) transmitted back by the sample and provides clear differentiation of structures in tissues, enabling researchers to create multi-color images. Fluorescence imaging microscopy is to conventional microscopy as color television is to black and white.
“Everyone wants to see their idea materialize in an image,” said Peter Toth, director of UIC’s Fluorescence Imaging Core.
The core is one of the UIC Research Resource Center’s 13 cores that provide state-of-the-art, user-friendly facilities and services to support education, method development and new applications development. Unlike other cores throughout Chicago, UIC’s fluorescence microscopy imaging core specializes in in-vivo imaging, providing researchers with the opportunity to observe and analyze dynamic processes.
“Our published work was not possible without the assistance of the Fluorescence Imaging Core,” said Yulia Komarova, an associate professor in UIC’s College of Medicine who studies vascular biology and is developing a drug to treat respiratory complications from pneumonia. “It was instrumental in helping us make major discoveries.”
Fluorescence imaging can be applied to a range of research endeavors, including the study of intracellular interactions, gene expression, protein interactions and localization and the labelling of intracellular structures.
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At the core, researchers have access to over 10 different microscope systems. Recently, they received several new, cutting-edge microscopes, including the ZEISS LSM 980 with Airyscan 2, ZEISS Lightsheet 7, STELLARIS DIVE Multiphoton Microscope equipped with FLIM capabilities. The core’s team provides training on the microscope systems and Imaris image analysis software to any researcher looking to use the equipment.
“I was trained by Peter Toth,” said Rebecca Jung, an MSTP G2 student at UIC studying corneal nerve regeneration. “You prepare a sample and then he walks you through how to image it, how to use the program, how to use ZEN. And if you have any questions after that, he’s always just a phone call away.”
The core offers services to over 300 researchers each year at every level of their careers, from high school interns to college professors. The majority of the core’s users come from UIC, with the rest visiting from universities across Chicago.
“We are somewhat limited in what we can visualize on 2-D planar sections,” said Frank Ko, an assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center who uses light sheet microscopy imaging to research bone regeneration. “Light sheet microscopy is a very new technique, so it’s very hard to find the appropriate equipment. Fortunately, the UIC core had purchased the light sheet microscopy tool, which is how I started using their core service.”
The core is one of many shared research resources at UIC subsidized in part by Facilities & Administration funds.
“This instrumentation is quite expensive,” said Komarova. “That’s what defines the need to have this type of core facility. We’re very thankful to the Vice Chancellor for Research and the university leadership that the core provides not only instrumentation, but also personal assistance in terms of training and maintenance and help designing experiments related to research needs.”
Instruments can be individually reserved 24/7 by trained users and multiple workstations dedicated to digital image analysis are always on standby in the facility.
“We want to cater to the best professionals with the best tools we have here,” said Toth. “That’s our goal.”
For researchers who are new to the facility and would like to begin training on one of the instruments, they can sign up for an initial 2-hour session through rrc-imaging@uic.edu. Additional information can be found on their website.