ZEISS at The Biophysical Society Annual Meeting
Find your next breakthrough

In order to best understand the world around us, it is necessary to observe microscopic specimens in as natural a state as possible. This requires a transition from imaging fixed to live specimens and expanding from 2D to 3D model organisms. The drive towards live-cell imaging over long timeframes and at high volume speeds brings new challenges. There is evidence that traditional imaging techniques can influence the behavior of specimens due to phototoxicity, thus affecting the integrity of the results.

The most influential technological breakthroughs which address these challenges have been modifications to the shape of the excitation light. Classical laser-based imaging approaches utilize a gaussian excitation beam which is focussed on a spot or a sheet and scanned as required to excite the sample. As an alternative approach, Bessel beams have been combined to introduce a structured pattern to the beam profile. The resulting ‘lattice’ of light has many benefits for live imaging. The most notable is a reduction of light exposure due to significant improvement in signal to noise while maintaining high resolution and optical sectioning. With lattice-lightsheet microscopy, it is possible to capture dynamics at previously unreachable combinations of acquisition speed and resolution over hours and even days.

This talk will describe how the ZEISS Lattice Lighsheet 7 makes long-term volumetric imaging of living cells with subcellular resolution possible without having to change your standard sample preparation protocols to accommodate the instrument. With automatic alignment and easy acquisition workflows, lattice light-sheet imaging is now as accessible as using a standard inverted microscope.

Join us for this webinar to learn how ZEISS Lattice Lightsheet 7 allows you to discover the subcellular dynamics of life.

Did you know that traditional imaging techniques can influence the behavior of specimens due to phototoxicity, thus affecting the integrity of the results? In order to best understand the world around us, it is necessary to observe microscopic specimens in as natural a state as possible. This requires a transition from imaging fixed to live specimens and expanding from 2D to 3D model organisms. The drive towards live-cell imaging over long timeframes and at high volume speeds brings new challenges.

The most influential technological breakthroughs which address these challenges have been modifications to the shape of the excitation light. Classical laser-based imaging approaches utilize a gaussian excitation beam which is focussed to a spot or a sheet and scanned as required to excite the sample. As an alternative approach, Bessel beams have been combined to introduce a structured pattern to the beam profile. The resulting ‘lattice’ of light has many benefits for live imaging. The most notable is a reduction of light exposure due to significant improvement in signal to noise while maintaining high resolution and optical sectioning. It is now possible to acquire data at previously unreachable combinations of acquisition speed and resolution with minimized phototoxic damage.

This talk will outline the most recent implementations of lattice illumination and discuss how they are paving the way for the next generation of imaging solutions for a new era of life science exploration.

Biology is the science that studies life. So it comes as no surprise that imaging of living organisms or cells has always been a central focus to drive research forward and provide unique insights. Being able to image living samples has allowed researchers to observe complex morphogenic processes such as the development of an organism over time, but it comes with its own challenges. Living samples are often delicate and finding the optimal imaging set up is critical for the success of the experiment. In this webinar we will discuss the imaging parameters that are important for your live imaging experiments and deduce the best imaging technique from them. We will look at a variety of different examples and evaluate which method would be the most suitable, leading to the best results. We will review imaging of samples from single cells in culture, all the way to imaging of larger 3D model organisms, such as zebrafish and cricket embryos. During the webinar we will talk about Widefield Microscopy with Deconvolution, Confocal Microscopy and Airyscan 2 Multiplex, Multiphoton microscopy, Structure Illumination Microscopy, and Lightsheet Microscopy. The individual strength of each method will be discussed in the context of live imaging, aiming to support you choosing the best instrument for your next experiment with living samples.

Learn about the new Multiplex mode for parallel pixel acquisition with the ZEISS LSM 9 family and Airyscan 2. You can now acquire up to 8 superresolution image lines with high signal-to-noise rate in a single sweep. Capture dynamic processes, cellular signaling, molecular trafficking, and diffusion events with real-time superresolution and high SNR.

The new Multiplex mode for Airyscan 2 uses smart illumination and detection schemes for parallel pixel acquisition on a confocal microscope. Scientists can now capture weaker signals, keep their context, and get statistically sound data.

Extending Airyscan imaging to larger model systems with lower expression levels, the new Multiplex mode increases acquisition speeds even further. You get superresolution and a 4 times higher SNR compared to traditional confocals. This novel concept allows rapid volumetric imaging with unprecedented resolution beyond what is available in traditional confocal systems today.

Airyscan 2 provides new data handling concepts, providing 6.6 times smaller data sizes and 5 times faster image reconstruction times. Further, optimized real time acquisition strategies employed with the LSM 9 family enable faster scan speeds for Airyscan 2, allowing higher data throughput.

Your life sciences research often requires you to measure, quantify and understand the finest details and sub-cellular structures of your sample. You may be working with tissue, bacteria, organoids, neurons, living or fixed -cells and many different labels.

In this webinar, we will explain how Elyra 7 with Lattice SIM takes you beyond the diffraction limit of conventional microscopy to image your samples with superresolution. Learn how to examine the fastest processes in living samples – in large fields of view, in 3D, over long time periods, and with multiple colors. The new Lattice SIM technology of Elyra 7 brings structured illumination microscopy (SIM) to a new level. Groundbreaking light efficiency gives you gentle superresolution imaging with incredibly high speed – at 255 fps you will get your data faster than ever before.

See how Elyra 7 lets you combine Lattice SIM with single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) for techniques such as PALM, dSTORM and PAINT. Choose freely among your labels when imaging with resolutions down to 20 nm laterally. High power laser lines allow you to image your sample with ease, from green to far red.

Elyra 7 is also very flexible: you can employ a wealth of contrasting techniques and combine them with optical sectioning. The new Apotome mode gives you superfast optical sectioning of your 3D samples. All that, plus Elyra 7 works seamlessly with your ZEISS SEMs in a correlative workflow.

Optical microscopy has been a valuable tool in life science research for many decades. Beginning with a widefield setup, many more microscopy techniques have been developed over time. These techniques made it possible to analyze samples faster, in more dimensions, and with higher resolution. All this led to new fields of application and many scientific breakthroughs. What all these developments have in common is that the improved performance could only take effect after the sample was found and brought into focus. Even with all the automation and motorization in state-of-the-art optical microscopes in life science research, the method for finding the sample did not change significantly over time. It still requires a trained operator with microscope knowledge and is mostly done manually by looking through the eyepieces and using the focus and stage control for adjustments.

The latest developments in artificial intelligence have enabled the design of a tool that eliminates these manual steps. The AI Sample Finder automatically detects the sample carrier, adjusts the focus, and can detect even low-contrast, unstained samples. This automation results in an overview image for fast and convenient navigation that will benefit both beginners and experts. The time to image is reduced by up to a factor of 10, improving throughput and ease of use.