UA Biophysics:Microscopy

Microscopy

• We are starting to build is a Single Plane Illumination Microscope in collaboration with Dr. Guillaume Gay. This microscope will allow obtaining 3D images of microscopic objects such as sclerites of coral (the skeleton of coral) in order to assess the impact of ocean acidification on the growth of corals. This type of microscope is particularly interesting for minimizing photobleaching in development studies, generating 3D sections of relatively large specimens in biology as well as tracking single particles with low background. Students in physics and engineering are encouraged to apply.

• We built an Atomic Force Microscope to do single molecule studies of molecules with support of the Fernandez lab at Columbia University. We will be doing force spectroscopy of biologically-relevant molecules to understand their mechanics. Students in physics with interests in biophysics or instrumentation development are encouraged to apply. In the near future we expect to study the mechanical properties of biological membranes, proteins in neurons as well as cell mechanics in neurons.