DeltaVision Core is the latest innovation in the DeltaVision family of live-cell microscopy imaging systems from Image Solutions (UK).. It acquires, analyses and archives the most complex data. Providing uncompromised imaging and visualisation of live-cell biology, it is also designed to increase the ability to image more probes and samples over longer periods of time than any other imaging system.
Gold standard in live-cell microscopy
The proprietary illumination design of the DeltaVison Core now features two illumination sources, a xenon light source to provide many hours of continuous illumination for long-term studies required in live-cell imaging, and light-emitting diode (LED) transillumination for better light concentration featuring ultrafast solid-state shuttering. Combined with a newly redesigned 10-position excitation filter wheel and six-position emission filter wheel, DeltaVision Core provides faster multichannel acquisition for the full range of imaging requirements.
Next-generation instrument control built on NanoMotion III technology provides the most sophisticated microscope control system available. This integrated design enables improved performance, faster acquisition and increased reliability. The new stage design offers greater thermal stability with twice the travel while still providing the historical groundbreaking performance of the DeltaVision platform.
As individual requirements grow, so too do imaging requirements. Each DeltaVision Core system has many outstanding upgrades and options available to enhance its imaging capabilities. One of the key options available is the Quantifiable Laser Module
Quantifiable Laser Module
The DeltaVision Quantifiable Laser Module (QLM2) is an optional component for the DeltaVision Core system that adds a laser beam to the back aperture of the microscope objective to provide a focused illumination spot in the centre of the optical field. The QLM2 is designed for photokinetic experiments that involve the interaction of light with biomolecules and fluorophores.
A photokinetic event is one within an experiment in which the sample is illuminated with a laser. It can be a simple event such as photobleaching a single diffraction-limited location in a cell. More complex experiments entail repeated activation of a pattern of points using first one laser and then switching to a different laser to photobleach a smaller region within that pattern. Whether this event causes photobleaching, photoactivation, or some other phenomenon largely depends on the molecules present and the parameters of the photokinetic event (eg laser wavelength, laser power and spot size). Sample applications include fast FRAP, FLIP, laser FRET, photoactivation (PA-GFP) and photoconversion.
Cancer cell imaging in Manchester
A top-of-the-range DeltaVision Core microscopy imaging system supplied by Preston-based
Image Solutions (UK) is at the heart of efforts being made by a team of researchers in Manchester to unravel the mystery of how human cells turn cancerous.
The imaging system, which is designed to increase the ability to look at more probes and samples over longer periods of time, is being used at the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB). This flagship research institute within the University of Manchester houses over 60 research groups which can draw on expertise in engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and medical sciences.
Image Solutions’ DeltaVision Core is central to the activities of Dr Dean Jackson, a cancer biologist in MIB’s life sciences section. He heads a small group investigating the links between structure and function in mammalian cells. In particular, his group is very interested in the regulation of cell division, hence the need for an extremely powerful imaging solution that can handle both fixed and live cells.
According to Dr Jackson, the two key advantages of the DeltaVision Core system are the speed and sensitivity that it brings to the group’s two main activities: live cell imaging and nuclear structure remodelling during differentiation. In the first, the imaging system is used to monitor the dynamic behaviour and stability of the structural subunits of the chromosomes (DNA foci). “These contain up to a million DNA base pairs each, are probably modular, and change in structure and chromatin density as different nuclear functions are performed. However, they are very difficult to analyse and require imaging technologies with good speed, sensitivity and resolution,” said Dr Jackson.
The second focus for the group involves the use of mouse and human cell models in an attempt to unravel the processes at work during cell differentiation. Here, the cells are dispersed in a complex three-dimensional (3D) matrix in which they proliferate and form 3D balls. These balls eventually polarise, the central cells dying by apoptosis, to form hollow structures about 250 µm across (acini). By labelling these cells, the scientists can use the DeltaVision Core for highly-detailed multichannel imaging of the changes to 3D structure during the 14–21 days of the development and differentiation phase.
“In both situations it is important to have a very uniform and low-power light source that allows image capture without damaging the sample. The xenon source on the DeltaVision with appropriate filters gives excellent illumination that is much less damaging than the equivalent laser illumination using confocal microscopy,” he added.
The DeltaVision Core has also established a reputation within the group for being easy to use. “Although it has some pretty advanced applications, my people tell me that the DeltaVision Core is very user-friendly for this type of analysis,” concluded Dr Jackson.