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A highly reliable and budget‐friendly Peltier‐cooled camera for biological fluorescence imaging microscopy
Author(s) -
JOLLING KOEN,
VANDEVEN MARTIN,
VAN DEN EYNDEN JIMMY,
AMELOOT MARCEL,
VAN KERKHOVE EMMY
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2007.01858.x
Subject(s) - microscope , optics , photomultiplier , propidium iodide , microscopy , fluorescence microscope , materials science , fluorophore , confocal , dapi , photobleaching , fluorescence , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , optoelectronics , physics , detector , chemistry , programmed cell death , apoptosis , biochemistry
Summary The SAC8.5, a low‐cost Peltier‐cooled black and white 8‐bit CCD camera for astronomy, was evaluated for its use in imaging microscopy. Two camera–microscope configurations were used: an epifluorescence microscope (Nikon Eclipse TE2000‐U) and a bottom port laser scanning confocal microscope system (Zeiss LSCM 510 META). Main advantages of the CCD camera over the currently used photomultiplier detection in the scanning setup are fast image capturing, stable background, an improved signal‐to‐noise ratio and good linearity. Based on DAPI‐labelled Chinese Hamster Ovarian cells, the signal‐to‐noise ratio was estimated to be 4 times higher with respect to the currently used confocal photomultiplier detector. A linear relationship between the fluorescence signal and the FITC‐inulin concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 1.8 mg mL −1 could be established. With the SAC8.5 CCD camera and using DAPI, calcein‐AM and propidium iodide we could also distinguish between viable, apoptotic and necrotic cells: exposure to CdCl 2 caused necrosis in A6 cells. Additional examples include the observation of wire‐like mitochondrial networks in Mito Tracker Green‐loaded Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. Furthermore, it is straightforward to interface the SAC8.5 with automated shutters to prevent rapid fluorophore photobleaching via easy to use astrovideo software. In this study, we demonstrate that the SAC8.5 black and white CCD camera is an easy‐to‐implement and cost‐conscious addition to quantitative fluorescence microfluorimetry on living tissues and is suitable for teaching laboratories.