Lab Equipment

A 21 W 1064 nm laser can be used to generate one, two or four traps simultaneously with high trapping forces. The set-up is combined with a pressure-driven microfluidic setup and a confocal microscope with 488 nm, 532 nm and 638 nm lasers.

Funded by the ERC.

A 21 W 1064 nm laser can be used to generate one, two or four traps simultaneously with high trapping forces. The set-up is combined with a pressure-driven microfluidic setup and a wide field fluorescence and TIRF microscope.

Funded by REACT-EU, more details see here

We use the NanoWizard® 4 XP BioScience AFM for microscopy and force spectroscopy of biological materials. The AFM is combined with an Olympus IX83 which allows the direct overlay of fluorescence images and AFM images. The optional HybridStage increases the scanning field from 100 µm × 100 µm × 15 µm to 200 µm x 200 µm x 200 µm.

Funded by the DFG and the MWK.

We run an optical stretcher (by RSZelltechnik GmbH) for contactless stretching of single cells, combining a microfluidic cell delivery system with intense, divergent laser light (1060 nm). It can be mounted on a fluorescence microscope, but our measurement chamber has been optimized for x-ray applications using our in-house setups as well as synchrotron stations.

Funded by the BMBF.

The IX83 Evident microscope with two-deck module system, is used to image fluorescent samples close to the substrate independent of potentially high fluorophore concentration in solution. Currently, the laser lines installed on the microscope include 488 nm, 561 nm and 640 nm. Furthermore, this set-up is equipped with a motorized TruFocus Z drift compensator and a CMOS camera, with up to 150x magnification.

Funded by the DFG.

The IX73 Olympus FCS setup has a conventional epi-fluorescence component and a home-built confocal component for high imaging flexibility. With the confocal component, fluorescence fluctuation techniques, such as FCS, PCH or FCCS can be employed. The setup is equipped with a 491-nm and a 532-nm laser for two color measurements, a 60x water immersion objective and two τ-SPAD detectors for FFS and a digital CMOS camera for epi-fluorescence recordings.

Funded by the DFG.

The IX83 Olympus with Fluoview 3000 enables both epi-fluorescence microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy with high sensitvity and speed using laser lines of 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, 514nm and 640nm. With a magnification up to 100x it is used for fixed samples as well as live-cell imaging in combination with a top-stage incubator. Our setup is also equipped with a "Caliburn" laser-cutting system from Rapp OptoElectronic GmbH.

Funded by the DFG.

The IX81 confocal setup offers both widefield epi-fluorescence and confocal fluorescence microscopy. It is equipped with objectives up to a magnification of 100x (oil immersion, NA=1.4), laser lines of 405nm, 458 nm, 488 nm, 515 nm, 561 nm and 635 nm and a CMOS camera. In combination with a top stage incubator it enables multi-color fluorescence live cell imaging.

Funded by the DFG.

The IX81 cell setup offers widefield epi-fluorescence microscopy. Currently, it is equipped with objectives up to a magnification of 60x (oil immersion, NA=1.49) and in combination with a Retiga 6000 CCD camera with very small pixel size it is suitable for Traction Force Microscopy (TFM). The top stage incubator allows the investigation of living cells. Additionally, the microscope is equipped with a Chiaro nanoindentor from Optics11 that measures elastic properties like the Young's modulus of samples.

Funded by the DFG.

The photo patterning setup allows for contact-less micro patterning of proteins. A virtual mask is generated, through which a photoactive reagent locally degrades a passivation layer on the sample surface. Micrometer scale patterns of different shapes and sizes can be generated and used for cell culture or protein interaction studies.

Funded by the DFG.

The fully automated Olympus BX63 upright microscope is equipped with different objectives 40x and 60x water dipping objectives and an incubation chamber. It allows for multidimensional imaging of fluorescent samples on opaque or strongly diffracting surfaces.

The upright microscope enables easy brightfield, phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy on thick samples and samples on opaque surfaces.

The modular rheometer setup is used for performing rotational or oscillatory rheological measurements on various biological specimens and hydrogels in the torque range from 0.5 nNm to 230 mNm (maximum speed 3000 rpm). It comes with an option to switch between different geometries (currently: two cone-plate variants, one for small and one for large volumes). The instrument is also capable of maintaining a given sample temperature before and during the measurement.