Re: training and bets practices for confocal

Posted by Joshua Zachary Rappoport on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/training-and-bets-practices-for-confocal-tp7589945p7589946.html

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Obviously there are a million other bits of info you could add, but this seems very reasonable as an essential primer
Under "If you see red pixels, you need to turn down the Gain or Laser.", you might want to add something like,
"Although increasing/decreasing gain and laser will make the image bright/dimmer, Gain refers to the detector, and increasing this can lead to more noise, while Laser refers to the illumination, and increasing this can lead to more photo-bleaching."
Cheers
Josh



--
Joshua Z. Rappoport PhD
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

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From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> on behalf of Cammer, Michael <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2019 11:15 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: training and bets practices for confocal

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I have been providing the following guideline in introductory confocal training which I thought were critical for data integrity.  But other people have been disagreeing with all three points.  Interested whether there is a consensus.  Does anyone disagree with the guidelines below?  Any comments welcome.
Cheers-
Michael


General Confocal Best practices:

  *   The pinhole is what makes the confocal a confocal. Set at 1AU (which means 1 Airy unit) and click the 1AU button each time you change lenses.
If you are opening it for imaging fixed samples, you should go use a widefield fluorescence scope instead.
Except in special case of live cell imaging where you understand that images are not confocal, this is NOT AN ACCEPTABLE WAY TO MAKE IMAGES BRIGHTER. You won't hurt the instrument, but when you write your methods, you won't be accurately describing your microscopy as "confocal".
  *   Offset. Always use at 0 or 1.
Other numbers are wrong.
  *   Digital gain. The preset is 1. Leave it there.
  *   Use the Range Indicator button to make sure you have no saturated pixels<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__microscopynotes.com_imagej_saturation_index.html&d=DwIFAg&c=yHlS04HhBraes5BQ9ueu5zKhE7rtNXt_d012z2PA6ws&r=Tlex6a4rANueY3Z4ow0mcS-UVV1PpCZInmcJs49fQLOd1BLGJHg6nnZ85uZJf5RY&m=qJqPpt9SRyfT_ABEZPCiAINvhx1oMT4IceovC21eSyg&s=6NxuEXHOOJkpZI4fa-gQSEfMNQUdB3AsWiovV6sLhrc&e= >. If you see red pixels, you need to turn down the Gain or Laser.
Saving Files
All files should be stored in Drive D:.
Files left on the desktop, drive C, Pictures folder, etc will be deleted.
.lsm or .czi always.
CZI is best. These files can be opened directly into image analysis software. These files retain instrument settings, channel integrity, bit depth, and spatial scale that may be necessary for image analysis.
If you save files as TIFor other formats, the integrity of color channels may be lost and you will have no metadata regarding instrument settings and spatial scale.
Move data to your lab's shared server space.




Michael Cammer, Sr Research Scientist, DART Microscopy Laboratory
NYU Langone Health, 540 First Avenue, SK2 Microscopy Suite, New York, NY  10016
Office: 646-501-0567 Cell: 914-309-3270  [hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>
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