Light Microscopy Facility
The photonic microscopy facility coordinated by Marie-Noëlle Soler brings together highly sophisticated equipment and current state-of-the-art technologies in advanced microscopy. Its main objective is to provide research groups inside and outside the Institut Curie with imaging approaches at different scales and with complementary methods, enabling the imaging of molecules, organelles, cells, organisms and whole tissues in both healthy and pathological states.
The platform has a total of 10 light imaging systems, including standard wide-field microscopes, videomicroscopes (including an IncuCyte system), three conventional confocal laser scanning microscopes, one of which is equipped for biphotonic imaging, another equipped with a white laser and a confocal rotating disc system with a super-resolution module and allows evanescent wave imaging (azimuthal TIRF), in addition to a FRAP module (4 laser lines) on confocal and TIRF modes. The photonic microscopy platform is used every year by nearly 100 users, representing more than 10,000 hours of equipment use.
The photonic microscopy facility has expertise in the field of dynamic imaging and advanced microscopy techniques (F-techniques, super-resolution, FLIM, optogenetics, etc). The following figure shows the different applications and techniques available on the platform.
The platform’s engineers organise and participate in several training courses throughout the year. These trainings are organized either via the Teaching Unit of the Institut Curie, or via the CNRS, Universities, or microscopy networks (RT-MFM, GDR-IMABIO).