Opterra Offers Superior Integration of Confocal Microscopy and
Photoactivation for Biology Applications
NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Today at the 2013 American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting,
Bruker (NASDAQ: BRKR) introduced the Opterra
Multipoint Scanning Confocal Microscope, which sets a new
standard for integration of confocal imaging with photoactivation. The
new Opterra microscope utilizes a number of innovative
features to obtain the speed of wide-field imaging and the resolution of
traditional confocal systems while minimizing phototoxicity, making it
an ideal solution for gentle and fast confocal imaging of live cell
preparations. A seven-position pinhole/slit aperture allows the Opterra
to be optimized for varying objective lens magnifications that results
in the ability to image deeper into tissue versus conventional disk
scanning confocal microscopes.
Bruker's Opterra Microscope sets a new standard for integration of confocal imaging with photoactivation (Photo: Business Wire)
“The Opterra has proven to be a major advance in terms of
rapid, time-based volumetric imaging,” said Dr.
Mario De Bono
, Medical
Research Council Group Leader at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology,
Cambridge University, UK. “The speed of the system, coupled with its
sensitivity and resolution has significantly enhanced our ability to
visualize neural activity in 3D in C. elegans at speeds that were
previously not possible. The ability to change pinhole size is great, as
it allows us to match the imaging setup with the specimen.”
“Our new Opterra provides a flexible optical workstation
for cell biologists to perform confocal imaging of live cells and small
organisms with simultaneous point and area scanning for photoactivation
and photoablation,” explained
Mike Szulczewski
, Vice President and
General Manager of Bruker's Fluorescence Microscopy business. “The tight
integration of optical imaging with optical stimulation techniques
enables investigators to take full advantage of today’s imaging and
photochemical probe technologies.”
About Opterra
The Opterra Multipoint Scanning
Confocal Microscope is based on Bruker’s patented swept-field
imaging scanner. This scanner allows high-speed confocal imaging of live
cell and small organism preparations at resolutions comparable to
conventional point scanners, but with minimal phototoxicty. Opterra
includes a second scanner for photo- activation/bleaching/ablation,
which can operate simultaneously with imaging. The photoactivation
scanner can be coupled to both visible and multiphoton lasers, thus
allowing the use of the full range of photo-activatable molecules and
photochemical techniques available to life science researchers. In the
case of multiphoton lasers, this provides precise three-dimensional
control over photoactivation. The applications addressed by Opterra
include response to DNA damage, kinetics of photoactivatable fluorescent
proteins, fluorescence recovery after photo-bleaching (FRAP), response
to local stimulation of channel proteins, and response to cell membrane
damage. Bruker’s Prairie View 5.0 software provides an intuitive
interface with a rich environment for defining image acquisition and
photoactivation protocols.
About Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR)
Bruker is a leading
provider of high-performance scientific instruments and solutions for
molecular and materials research, as well as for diagnostics, industrial
and applied analysis. For more information, visit www.bruker.com.
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Source: Bruker Corporation