The platform is attached to ITI Neurostra. It is located at the Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégrées (INCI) and managed administratively by the CNRS UAR 3156 headed by P. Darbon.
The expertise of the in vitro imaging platform applies to the study of biological materials, tissues and isolated cells on a structural and ultrastructural scale. It extends to the immunocytochemical visualisation of molecules and the phenotypic detection of gene expression.
The platform is involved in a wide variety of interdisciplinary projects (biology, chemistry, agronomy, medicine). Around two-thirds of users come from the CNRS INCI UPR3212 (6 groups), with the remainder coming from other Strasbourg institutes (IBMC, IBMP, ISIS, IPHC, ECPM, CRBS, etc.).
A number of developments have taken place in recent years, including cryofixation (Wohlwend system) and super-resolution microscopy (Stellaris 8 confocal microscope with a STED module).
Microscopy systems available @Plateforme Imagerie In Vitro INCI
PIC-STRA aims to support the 10 CRBS research units, as well as external teams from both the academic and private sectors. Opened in October 2020, this 350 m2 imaging platform provides users with around ten imaging systems (stereomicroscopes, wide-field and confocal single- and multiphoton microscopes with super-resolution module) for multi-scale observation, from whole small animals to sub-cellular details. It provides various solutions for the observation of fixed and living samples (videomicroscopy) and is equipped for image processing and analysis (IMARIS, Fiji/ImageJ, ICY, iLastik). The platform is part of the local RISEst network (Réseau d’Imagerie Strasbourg grand Est), is in the process of obtaining CORTECS and IBISA (STrasbourg Centre) accreditation and works closely with the other platforms in the network.
Microscopy systems available @PIC-STRA
NeurImag is a service and R&D Cell and Tissue imaging core facility of the Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP, INSERM U1266 – Université de Paris) since October 2017.
It is divided in :
- Imaging services using photonic microscopy,
- Image analysis service providing « home made analysis solutions » through programming using either Icy, iLastik, ImageJ and/or MatLab.
- Primary cell culture services that provide neuronal cells, organoïds and tissue to solve biological questions through live and super-resolution imaging.
To groundwork our scientific operation, the daily management is divided into three interconnected services (Sample preparation, Imagingand Analysis) under the single management of a scientific director, Lydia Danglot (Inserm, “Chargée de Recherche Hors Classe”, Ph.D. in Neurosciences). Engineers performing technological operations are Sylvain Jeannin for Advanced Imaging, Philippe Bun for Data Analysis service, Laurianne Beynac for in vivo functional imaging and David Boulet for the Sample preparation and Primary Cell Culture service.
NeurImag manages 9 light microscopy systems for (A) the observation of biological macromolecular structures (full field) with very high spatial (3 confocal, 1 Airyscan confocal, 1 super-resolution SIM and 1 3D-STED and STED-FCS) and temporal (spinning-disk, 2 photons imaging, Light-sheet imaging) resolution or high molecular localization precision (2 super-resolution microscope for PALM, SPT and 3DSTORM) correlated respectively with high speed Airyscan or swept-field confocal (SFC), (B) monitoring macromolecular dynamics and interaction within cells and/or living organism with minimal phototoxicity (full field, spinning-disk and fast Airyscan confocal) and (C) spectroscopy approaches for monitoring intracellular and molecular dynamics using light manipulation (spinning-disk with laser ablation and FRAP addons) and fluorescent lifetime decay measurements (fast-FLIM confocal) respectively. NeurImag also provides 3 workstations directly connected to microscope computers for image processing and data analysis using free- and commercial software such as ICY, ImageJ, Huygens, iLastik, Imaris, Neurolucida, Volocity, Zen Blue (Zeiss), SRX (Bruker) and MatLab.
The NeurImag cell and tissue culture services offers a unique service for biological sample preparation ranging from cells (primary culture of hippocampal/cortical neurons or glial cells, organoïdes, cells lines and tissues) with the optimization of immunofluorescence labeling or transfecting protocols to the management of human biological samples from the Pathology department of GHU-Paris/Sainte-Anne Medical Center, located on the same campus. The service is equipped with 6 biosafety level2-culture rooms including 15 Class II A2 biosafety cabinet, 18 CO2 incubators, 6 bench top centrifuge, 5 light microscope and one fluorescent microscope for a quick cell culture/transfection check. As an example, internal and external teams can buy weekly, plates of neurons seeded on glass coverslips to directly proceed for imaging or transfection. Light-sheet microscope is in L2 environment and can welcome human and IPS samples.
Since Neuroscience is a major research topic at IPNP, the NeurImag Imaging Facility addresses imaging techniques related to issues faced in this field. Imaging techniques currently available cover a wide range of spatiotemporal resolution, ranging from video-microscopy, super-resolution imaging (PALM, STORM, STED 3D and SIM), sample preparation and quantitative image analysis. If you wish to discuss about the potential and decisive contribution of imaging techniques to your research project, do not hesitate to contact us.
List of system and services available
- Deconvolution widefield microscopy
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Videomicroscopy and slide scanner system
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Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) + Gated detectors + White Light Laser
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Spinning disc confocal system +Fast 2 colors GEMINI moduleSwept-field confocal system
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Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF)
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Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS)
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Fluorescence Cross-Correlation Spectroscopy (FCCS)
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Fluorescence lifetime Imaging microscopy (FLIM)
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Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)
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Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP)
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2 photon in vivo imaging
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Light sheet microscopy for live (organoids, Zebrafish) or fixed samples
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Laser ablation and Photon uncaging
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Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM)
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Photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM)
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STimulated Emission Depletion microscopy (STED) +/- Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy module
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Stochastical Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) with 3D biplane module
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Primary cell culture preparation + optimization on request/demand
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Sample preparation (transfection, Immunostaining, 3D cultures)
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Image Data Processing and Analysis +custom made solution
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Workstations for data analysis (commercial softwares)
The imaging and Cytometry facility is part of Généthon, which is a pharmaceutical organization specialized in understanding rare diseases and designing new approaches of therapy, mostly gene transfer. The imaging and Cytometry facility offers services in imaging and cytometry, acquisition and analysis. The facility organizes its activity around 3 main missions: services, training, Research and Development.
The facility interacts with different partners:
- inner departments of Genethon (5 R&D teams, vector production unit, technical development unit ; preclinical evaluation department)
- Genethon belongs itself to a public interest group named Genopole, which gathers Start-up, companies, facilities, institutes and public laboratories, and promote their activity and research. Consequently, the facility has strong interaction with Genopole partners.
The facility is open to any user outside Genopole, and is currently working with the CEA, the institute of myology, the “Institut de Recherche Biomédial des armées (IRBA)” etc.
Scope of activity: The facility concentrates on quantitative imaging of muscles and neuromuscular disease.
Microscopy systems available @ImCy
The BIC (Bordeaux Imaging Center) offers resources in photonic and electronic imaging, mainly in life, health and plant sciences. It is a core facility identified at the national level as IBISA that gathers 12 highly skilled engineers. It has the ISO9001 label. The different components of the BIC are: PHOTONIC imaging, ELECTRONIC imaging, PLANT imaging. The Bordeaux Imaging Center offers access to the most advanced bio-imaging techniques for fixed and live cell imaging such as video-microscopy, confocal microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The BIC provides a unique set of high-end equipment for super- resolution microscopy such as STED confocal microscopy, FRAP video-microscopy, lifetime imaging FLIM for the measurement of molecular interactions. We also provide access to equipment for sample preparation such as ultra-microtoms, high pressure freeze (HPF) and we can host live samples.