RWJMS Confocal and Electronic Imaging Center

The Zeiss Laser Scanning Confocal microscope is located in R413 of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Research Tower in Piscataway, New Jersey. It is available by appointment to all members of the UMDNJ/Rutgers University communities as well as to industrial users. Technical assistance and sample preparation services are provided for casual users. A user fee schedule is available.

Picture of Zeiss LSM410
This is our Zeiss LSM410
Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope
 Features of our Zeiss LSM 410 microscope:
  • Inverted Zeiss Microscope with Mechanical Stage and Motorized z-axis 
  • Ar/Kr Laser with lines at 488, 568 nM for Green and Red Fluorochromes 
  • He/Ne Laser with a line at 633 nM for Far Red Fluorochromes 
  • 10X Air, 20X Air, 40X Water Dipping and 63X Oil Immersion Planapochromat Objectives 
  • Two photomultiplier tubes for simultaneous 2 color detection 
  • Transmitted Light Detector for DIC and Bright Field Imaging 
  • Standard preparations on slides or living cells/tissue in glass-bottomed Petri dishes or other carriers. 
  • Pentium 60 Computer running Windows 95 with 2.9 Gbyte H.D. 
  • CD-ROM writer for permanent data storage 
  • Fully networked for data transfer to your own facility
  • Confidentiality for industrial users
Networked Electronic Imaging Facilities:

What is Confocal Microscopy?

In contrast to a conventional microscope, a confocal microscope only collects light coming from the focal plane of the lens. Light coming from out of focus areas is suppressed. Thus information can be collected from very defined optical sections perpendicular to the axis of the microscope. The confocal microscope can optically section thick tissue specimens (up to 100 micrometers) in depth, generating stacks of images from successive focal planes. Subsequently the stack of images can be used to reconstruct a three-dimensional view of the specimen. Further biological applications of confocal microscopy include time course studies of cellular or physiological processes and immuno-fluorescence or in vivo-labelling, with up to three fluorescence dyes simultaneously. Fixation of the tissue or cells is generally not necessary. Finally, the confocal microscope can be used to determine the surface structure, including that of mineral specimens or semi-conductors. Quantification by image analysis is easy, because the recorded light comes always from a very defined volume
Useful Links for Confocal Microscopy:
For Information or Appointments Contact:

Dr. Stephane Gross
Department of Pharmacology
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Piscataway, New Jersey 08854
Telephone: (732) 235-4084
e-mail: grossr@umdnj.edu

Last Updated: February 18, 2001