UA Biophysics:Microscopy

Microscopy

We have experience in several types of microscopy with two goals in mind: 1-To do our own research and 2-Help colleagues in their microscopy needs. We use commercial microscopes (in our lab, and in the microscopy center) for some our experiments and we also build our own microscopes. Our experience is mainly in fluorescence microscopy, Force Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy and Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy (LSFM).

• We built a type of LSFM, a Single Plane Illumination Microscope (SPIM) in collaboration with Dr. Guillaume Gay. This microscope gets us 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 in collaboration with Biommar. 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. We have are also studying Zebrafish as a a model organism for disease and the neural development of zebrafish in collaboration with Laboratorio de Neurociencia y Ritmos Circadianosand the Laboratorio de ciencias básicas Médicas. Students in physics, biology, medicine and engineering are encouraged to apply.

• We have also built a standard epifluorescence microscope for the bioengineering department, a force spectroscopy AFM, an educational SPR. Students in physics with interests in biophysics or instrumentation development are encouraged to apply.