Microscopes

Useful references

🔬 FSU Microscopy Site — best optical microscopy reference on the web, along with Nikon’s Microscopy U | Biophysical Society methods compendium — optical microscopy, electrophysiology, single molecule techniques, spectroscopy, simulation…  | ✰ FPbase — the best reference for fluorescence spectra — fluor. proteins, dyes, filters, etc. | µList Resouces for Light Microscopists
🔬 Video: How to align a microscope for Koehler Illumination | Other great Microcourses videos | 😱 😭 Microscopists’ Nighmares videos

Our microscopes

  1. The New Hotness: a Zeiss Elyra 7 structured illumination super-res microscope, with dual cameras and all the other goodies, shared with the Yadav and Beliveau labs. Installation in September 2025!

    photo of zeiss elyra 7

  2. The Workhorse: Nikon Ti2-E — our spinning disk confocal, with iLas ring TIRF and 405nm photoactivation, shared with the Hoppins Lab
    • Interactive optical configuration of this microscope on FPBase
    • Yokogawa CSU-X1 spinning disk head (10k rpm)
      • Toptica iChrome MLE Laser launch
        • 405, 488, 561, 640 nm (all nominally 100 mW at fiber tip)
      • Finger Lakes emission filter wheel for CSU-X1 (30 ms beteeen adjacent filters)
      • Andor 888 BSI 1k EMCCD camera
    • iLas2 TIRF and patterned photoactivation module
      • Toptica iChrome MLE Laser launch
        • 405, 488, 561, 640 nm (all nominally 100 mW at fiber tip)
      • Cairn Research Optosplit II bypass unit for simultaneous dual-color (or, hint, hint, dual-polarization) image acquisition
      • Photometrics Kinetix BSI sCMOS camera (cannot recommend too strongly; my current favorite camera)
    • Mad City fast piezo Z stage
    • Nikon Perfect Focus
    • Okolab Incubator enclosure with CO2/humidity controlled stage chamber
    • 60/1.4 and 100/1.45 oil immersion lenses; others available
    • Acquisition and analysis workstation with dual monitors
  2. The Cool Customer: Nikon E-800 upright microscope, equipped for epifluorescence. This microscope is currently configured with a home-built Peltier stage and objective temperature cuff for rapid temperature-sweep studies like the ones in this paper.
    • Epi-illumination path with with X-Cite 110 light engine
    • Photometrics Prime 95B BSI sCMOS camera
  3. The Specialist: Singer MSM400 workstation for yeast tetrad dissection, etc.
    Recognise your MSM 400 - Technical Support
  4. The Trusted Friend: Olympus IX-71 inverted frame. This microscope is currently disassembled, in preparation for upgrades (stay tuned).
    • Photoactivation/photoconversion unit: Mightex Polygon 400-G DMD
    • Epi-illumination path with with X-Cite 110 light engine
    • We own a LOT of really good Olympus objectives, condensers, etc.
  5. The Upright Citizen: Leica Stereozoom S9d for bacterial & yeast colony morphology, with CCD camera.
  6. The Sportscar: Nikon Ts2 tissue culture microscope with epifluorescence
  7. Probably Headed for the Glue Factory: Nikon Diaphot tissue culture microscope. A beast, built in the 1980s.
    Brief description here, in-depth teardown here