Optical imaging core facility at the Medical Faculty, NTNU.

Our confocal microscope was purchased in 1999 (Zeiss LSM 510) and was upgraded with a META detector and a new software in 2002.This equipment has proven to be of immense importance in the cell biology research at IKM and has contributed strongly in a numb er of scientific publications from IKM during the last three years. Papers have been published in both Nature and Nature Immunology where this imaging system has been the main technology. Thus, our confocal microscope system has proven itself to be one of the most successful investments at the institute. We regard it as a top priority to upgrade and expand it further for new and advanced applications and develop it into an optical imaging core facility at the Medical Faculty. The upgrade and expansion con sist of: A Mai-Tai wideband tuneable laser from 710nm to 920nm. The laser can easily be integrated in our existing confocal microscope. The second part of the upgrade is a high speed scanning-microscopy that offers a completely new dimension to time laps studies, and we considerer it as an essential investment that will enable us to perform studies of rapid cellular processes (such as endosome trafficking) that is not possible with the exciting LSM510 META which is currently heavily used by multiple user s from the medical faculty as well as from the NT faculty at NTNU. Upgrading our current confocal microscope with a 2-photon system will considerably increase the use of the microscope, and will greatly add to the need for the high speed confocal system w hich can also be used as routine instrument. In addition to this, there is also a specific need for a standard confocal microscope for long term studies of isolated heart cells. This latter equipment will need a pump system for continuous perfusion of liv ing heart cells as well as a terperature controller for long term experiments.