Bioimaging Wiki

The Zeiss LSM 880 with Airyscan is a confocal point-scanning microscope able to generate high-resolution three-dimensional images of thick specimens with high sensitivity and low photodamage. It is an inverted microscope especially suitable for live cell imaging and photobleaching experiments, equipped with a large size incubator for temperature control and CO2 supply and with Definite Focus for hardware focus control during long time-lapse acquisitions. Its Airyscan 32 channel area detector is able to collect all light from an Airy pattern simultaneously, allowing for increased resolution (140 nm laterally and 400 nm axially, at 488 nm). Its scanning unit further includes two PMT detectors (one of them cooled) as well as a GaAsP detector for increased sensitivity (45% QE compared to ~25% QE for conventional PMT). It is equipped with lasers from violet to far red (405, 458, 488, 514, 561, 594 and 633 nm excitation wavelengths). With this system you can perform optical sectioning of fluorescent samples which are too thick for a widefield system such as the Zeiss Cell Observer or the Zeiss Axiovert 200M. Image resolution with Airyscan is higher than the Zeiss LSM 710 and detection sensitivity is also higher than faster confocal systems such as the spinning disks 3i Marianas SDC and Zeiss Cell Observer SD. If your personal computer cannot handle all the data you collected, check out the Big Guy or Colossus.

Click on the image on the right to see the system beam path in higher detail

Data files older than 1 month will be automatically deleted on this system, please copy your data to the iMM server using the desktop link.

The Zeiss LSM 880 booking is divided in three daily slots:

1. A user can book at maximum 2 sessions per week
2. Each session must fit inside one of the three daily slots (i.e. a session booked from 11:00 to 14:00 counts as 2 sessions)
3. The above rules do not apply for weekends and for work days before 9:00 and after 21:00
4. The above rules do not apply for sessions booked on the very same day or 24 hours ahead
5. Exceptions to these rules require approval from José Rino.
6. Users must indicate which lasers they are going to use in the booking Description field
7. Users must indicate if they will use the incubator in the booking Description field (write down 37C INCUBATOR)

Upon request:

• Turn on the MAIN SWITCH
• Turn on the two switches: SYSTEMS/PC and COMPONENTS

• Turn on the computer
• Login in to Windows (Bioimaging User)
• Check that the computer is connected to an Unidentified network (click on the network icon in the taskbar)

• Start the ZEN software

If there is another user for this microscope in the next hour:

• Exit the ZEN software, leave the lasers on
• Log off the computer
• Clean up immersion objectives

Else:

• Turn off the lasers on ZEN
• Clean up immersion objectives
• Exit the ZEN software
• Shutdown the computer
• Turn off the two switches SYSTEMS/PC and COMPONENTS
• Wait 5 min. for Ar laser to cool down
• Turn off the MAIN SWITCH

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