Surgery Research Equipped for Success
New equipment in the Department of Surgery promises to make our labs more efficient and capable. Notably, the department has acquired a state-of-the-art microscope and imaging systems.
The microscope, a Nikon Eclipse model, lets researchers view more than a simple image of cells. It can produce images of the cells’ cross-sections, which can be combined by graphics software into a 3D likeness that can be manipulated onscreen. The microscope also allows researchers to take timelapse images of live cells, a feature made possible by an enclosure built into the device that surrounds the cells and is controlled for temperature, humidity, and gas concentration.
The other new equipment, ChemiDoc Imaging Systems, are often used for analyzing gels and blots and employ fluorescence labelling that can multiply the number of proteins detected. The devices also reduce the steps for imaging tasks and can provide publication-ready images of samples. This is in contrast to prior methods for capturing images, which in some cases involved building a minidarkroom around a sample.