Re: spinning-disk system for probing bacterial samples

Posted by Julio Vazquez on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/spinning-disk-system-for-probing-bacterial-samples-tp4838138p4839845.html

Hi Vernita, 

You probably will want to try it out with your samples before you buy, or at least try a similar system. Spinning disk systems are very nice for many applications. However, if you are working with biofilms, they may not provide sufficient penetration. Multi-photon systems will definitely get deeper into such samples. If you don't need speed, a laser scanning confocal might also be more appropriate, but it all depends on your needs. I have not worked with bacterial biofilms, but if I had to guess, I would say that for such samples, multiphoton would be better than laser scanning confocal, which would be better than spinning disk, which would be better than conventional or deconvolution fluorescence.

--

Julio Vazquez

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Seattle, WA 98109-1024

http://www.fhcrc.org/

On Apr 1, 2010, at 9:18 AM, Vernita Gordon wrote:

Hello,

I am starting my own lab this summer and thinking through what equipment to buy with my initial startup funds.  I am seriously considering the purchase of a used spinning-disk confocal system because it seems like a great system for the price.  However, I also want to know that it will be functional for my purposes, which will primarily be looking at bacteria at different stages of biofilm formation (and thus at varying densities and degrees of 3D structure), with probably some work on fluroescently-labeled biomembranes as well.

I have never worked with a spinning-disk system; all my experience has been with laser-scanning systems.  Has anyone worked with biological samples on a spinning-disk confocal, and can you tell me anything about image quality (for both sparse and dense samples) and light dosage/damage to biological systems?  For my purposes, speed of acquisition is not that important.

Thanks

Vernita