Imaging
Imaging
Imaging services are a key part of the offerings at Penn State College of Medicine, including a variety of microscopy instrumentation, such as confocal, multiphoton, deconvolution, TEM, Cryo-EM, 3D and 4D.
Bioluminescent whole-animal imaging is also available, as are MRI and NMR magnetic-resonance services.
Microscopy Imaging
The Microscopy Imaging Core at Penn State College of Medicine provides consultation and training in ultra-high-resolution imaging of cells and tissues in fixed or live states. We also provide expertise in quantitative image analysis and consultations on microscopy-related research projects.
Instrumentation
Our Confocal, Super-Resolution STED and Deconvolution Microscopes are useful in 3D imaging of any biological systems and spatial distribution of multiple fluorescently-labeled sub-cellular objects, including various cellular proteins complexes (multiple colors) simultaneously in live or fixed biological conditions.
We are also equipped with a Multimodal Multiphoton Microscope, which is capable of performing deep tissue fluorescence (multiple colors) and harmonic generation imaging in ex vivo, in vivo or intra-vital small animal imaging.
Our IMARIS, VOLOCITY and HUYGENS Workstations are excellent tools for 3D reconstruction from a series of 2D optical sections as well as complex quantitative microscopy computations.
Our Cryo- and Transmission Electron Microscopes enable ultra-high-resolution 3D imaging of sub-cellular objects as small as protein complexes and antigen-antibody interactions at the ultra-structural level.
Our Auto3dem and EMAN2 Workstations are useful for cryo-TEM image processing and 3D reconstruction.
Contact Us
For Light Microscopy, contact Thomas Abraham, PhD, at tabraham1@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or 717-531-0003, ext. 285486.
For Electron Microscopy, contact Han Chen, PhD, at hchen3@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
For Cryo-Electron Microscopy, contact Jennifer Sloppy, PhD, at jsloppy@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
MRI and NMR
Penn State College of Medicine's MRI Core is a magnetic resonance imaging facility for animal and human research, providing state-of-the-art MRI methodologies and expertise for in vivo studies to internal and external investigators.
MRI Methods
MRI allows for in vivo imaging studies for humans and animals. In addition to the conventional anatomical imaging methods, the Center for NMR Research at Penn State College of Medicine provides these new MRI modalities for advanced research:
- Functional MRI (fMRI)
- Quantitative Parametric Mapping
- Quantitative Morphological Measurement
- Diffusion Imaging (DWI and DTI)
- Tractography
- Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS)
Solution Phase NMR
Penn State College of Medicine's Solution Phase NMR Core supports multiple modern NMR applications, including structure elucidation of small molecules, triple resonance experiments for biomolecules, and metabolomic and tissue analyses.
Solution Phase NMR instrumentation includes a 500 MHz Bruker Avance II and a 600 MHz Bruker Avance II.
Contact Us
For details on the MRI Core or the Center for NMR Research, contact Jeff Vesek at jvesek@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or 717-531-0003, ext. 285782.
For details on Solution Phase NMR, contact Fang Tian, PhD, at ftian@psu.edu or 717-531-6775.
Bioluminescence Imaging
Penn State College of Medicine has a centralized facility for Bioluminescence Imaging, including capabilities for fluorescent as well as luminescent imaging of intact animals.
The core has a IVIS Lumina Series III Imaging System with an added Fluorescent Protein module.
Contact Us
For details on Bioluminescence Imaging, contact Dr. Thomas Abraham at tabraham1@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or 717-531-0003, ext. 285546.