BioStation IMQ microscope
Profile: "Microscope in an incubation box" that allows for easy automated timelapse, multipoint and multi-z imaging over an extended period.
The BioStation IMQ is a compact cell incubation and monitoring system that allows users with minimal microscopy experience to conduct live cell imaging. There are no occulars, all you see is a camera image.
The BioStation offers multifluorescence illumination (limited to two channels but filtercubes can be changed) in combination with phase contrast optics, temperature, CO2 and humidity control.
U2OS cells with TagRFP-Actin, imaged in the Nikon Ti-HSC system
One single objective (Plan Fluor 40x NA 0.8 Ph) yields three different magnifications (20, 40, 80x) by using additional lenses (0.5x, 1x, 2x). Images are acquired by a cooled Nikon DS-Qi1Mc black and white camera with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. A resolution of 640 x 480 pixels is also possible with or without 2 x 2 binning.
Inside the BioStation is a chamber that can hold one 35mm glass bottom dish (plastic bottom works as well but only if it is thin and of coverslip quality like in dishes from IBIDI). A field of 6 x 6 mm can be imaged in maximum. Over this 6 x 6 mm area up to 99 points can be registered and imaged over time, in different z-layers and in up to three channels (one phase contrast and up to two fluorescence).
| obj. | FOV | pixel number | pixel size |
| 20x | 414 x 311 μm | 1280 x 1024 pixel | 323 nm/pixel |
| 640 x 480 pixel | 647 nm/pixel | ||
| 40x | 207 x 156 μm | 1280 x 1024 pixel | 162 nm/pixel |
| 640 x 480 pixel | 323 nm/pixel | ||
| 80x | 104 x 78 μm | 1280 x 1024 pixel | 81 nm/pixel |
| 640 x 480 pixel | 163 nm/pixel |
Time lapse of cells imaged over 36h in the Nikon BioStation
Please note: until June 04, 2013 the older BioStation IM with a different camera was in use. Please contact us if you took images with the old one and need to know the scaling factors.
