# Leica TCS SP8 STED 3x super resolution microscope for the RBHS Newark campus

> **NIH NIH S10** · RBHS-NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2020 · $961,100

## Abstract

SUMMARY
In this proposal we request funding to purchase a Leica SP8 STED3X super-resolution microscopy system for
the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) imaging core facility. This system will provide the NJMS
research community, as well as investigators in other Rutgers schools with state of the art super-resolution
imaging capabilities. The imaging system is highly versatile, equipped with a continuous wavelength tunable
white excitation laser (470-670 nm), a 405 excitation laser for a commonly used wavelengths not covered by
the white laser, and 5 tunable detection channels. Together with the tunable acusto-optical beam-splitter (in
place of fixed dichroic mirrors) the system offers unparalleled spectral flexibility for confocal microscopy and
STED nanoscopy. The two additional high-power depletion lasers (592 and 775 nm) enable STED imaging and
provide high flexibility of fluorophore choice. The system includes optics for shaping the point-spread-function
of the excitation light, allowing selection between the higher resolution 2D STED imaging without axial
depletion, or 3D STED with axial depletion. The investigators in this shared instrumentation grant used
confocal imaging for many years, and their research programs would substantially benefit from this extremely
versatile super-resolution microscopy system. Specifically, several investigators study mitochondria in various
tissues and disease states, where detecting shape changes and localization of intramitochondrial protein
complexes would strongly benefit from the super-resolution Leica STED imaging system. Additionally, several
investigators are advancing our understanding of the mechanisms of chronic pain through the imaging of
protein dynamics in living neuronal processes and another group seeks to understand the mechanisms of the
interaction between immune cells with their target cells. Still another group of investigators study subcellular
structures and process, such as telomers, autophagosomes, mRNA processing, transcriptional regulation and
extracellular matrix formation where the exceptional resolution of the STED system will provide clear benefits
over traditional confocal microscopy. Several investigators intend to image living cells and tissue sections,
making the STED system preferable to other super-resolution modalities, such as STORM and SIM. Overall,
the Leica STED system would provide investigators at the New Jersey Medical School and the wider Rutgers
community with much needed super-resolution imaging capabilities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9940121
- **Project number:** 1S10OD025182-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** RBHS-NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** Dongfang Liu
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $961,100
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-10 → 2021-07-09

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9940121

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9940121, Leica TCS SP8 STED 3x super resolution microscope for the RBHS Newark campus (1S10OD025182-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9940121. Licensed CC0.

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