Multiphoton Microscope for deep-tissue and intravital imaging

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 567305511

The CECAD Imaging Facility is applying for a multiphoton microscope to replace their 12-year-old set-up. This system will be the only microscope of this kind within the CECAD Imaging facility, allowing a number of different groups in CECAD and on the UoC campus to image deep in tissue, to ablate in a z-restricted manner within cells, whole organisms and tissue and to perform second-harmonic generation to e.g. look at unlabelled tubulin, collagen and myosin structures. It will be used for fluorescence lifetime measurements and the assessment of metabolic states (e.g. NADH, FAD and ATP levels). The focus of the system will be deep-tissue imaging of brain, kidney and skin in narcotised mice. In addition, we will increase our method spectrum with awake animal imaging, which was not possible with our old instrument due to sterical hinderance below the objective lens.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Multiphotonen-Mikroskop für Aufnahmen tief im Gewebe sowie Intravitale Bildgebung
• Instrumentation Group: 5090 Spezialmikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Leader: Dr. Astrid Schauss