Leica Stellaris 8 Falcon confocal microscope - SUMMARY In response to the expanding need for multiplexed high-resolution imaging in biomedical research conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, we are requesting funds to purchase a Leica Stellaris 8 Falcon confocal microscope for the Imaging Platform of the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases (CIID). This instrument will modernize this Imaging Platform by replacing an aging LSM 780 confocal microscope that is no longer fully supported by its manufacturer Zeiss as of 2022. The CIID Imaging Platform is directed by Dr. Thorsten Mempel (since 2007) with support by the microscopy equipment manager Dr. Natalie Andrew (since 2019). In addition to the LSM 780 and a Zeiss Axioscan slide scanner it includes a Bruker Ultima IV multiphoton microscope and an Olympus MPE-RS multiphoton microscope. The CIID is a nexus for investigators with interest in Immunology and its Imaging Platform has a wide user base not only from CIID laboratories, but also research groups in other departments and centers located on the MGH research campus, including Pathology, Cancer Center, Neurology, Cardiology, Pulmonary Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Transplantation Biology, Systems Biology, Surgery, the Martinos Imaging Center, and others. Collectively, its user base has outstanding expertise in a spectrum of imaging modalities, including fluorescence lifetime imaging, which is an integral feature of the Stellaris 8 Falcon. The Leica Stellaris 8 confocal microscope incorporates a number of recent technological advances that extend its capabilities to make it ideally suited to meet the demands of NIH funded research projects directed by the user group described in this application. These include the pulsed white light laser providing 8 individual, freely tunable laser lines which, together with the prism-based spectral detection system, allows for ultimate flexibility and efficiency both in the discrete excitation and detection of a large number of spectrally similar fluorochromes not achievable with any other current commercial system. The pulsed laser further endows the Stellaris 8 with fluorescence lifetime imaging capability integrated into turn-key modalities for additional channel multiplexing (up to 11) or for the FALCON dedicated fast FLIM imaging modality. Together with its multicolor super-resolution capability achieved by adaptive image reconstruction (LIGHTENING), increased spatial coverage, and the superior detection sensitivity of Leica's proprietary HyD detectors, the instrument will have a transformative impact on NIH funded research at our institution. The long-term objective of this application is to maintain the ability of the CIID Imaging Platform to provide cutting-edge imaging capabilities to its user community and allow them to remain competitive at a time when advances in imaging technology enable unprecedented insights into the organization of tissues at the molecular and cellular scale.
