News and Announcements

New Schedule Rollout Update

Hello Everyone,

The core scheduler is due to roll out at the end of this month (July 31, 2022). All instrument reservations on the Google calendar will be frozen at the end of the month. Any appointments made after July 31s through the Google calendars will not be valid. To make instrument reservations and continue your research, you must be onboarded.

If you have not signed up for it yet, please do so. You will need it to access the following instruments

1. Olympus FV3000 Confocal
2. Olympus VS120 Slide Scanner
3. Olympus IX81 Widefield Microscope
4. Olympus IX83 Widefield Microscope
5. Asylum Research AFM

What this means for you…

For those who have already signed up,

1. Please switch organizations to the Micro and Nano Imaging Facility and then fill out your profile information. To do this, please select your name that is located in the top right hand corner after you have logged into LabArchives and the select switch organization. A dialog box should appear prompting you to select the organization you wish to switch to.
2. You will see 3 announcements at the top of the page. Please read it and schedule your BECF User Onboarding Session. Instrument reservations now require project codes! Please have your NIH grant number(s) ready for the onboarding session.
3. Schedule your Onboarding interview ASAP.

New Scheduling System (LabArchives)

Hello everyone,

The MNI Administration is excited to announce that we will be migrating to a more versatile and robust scheduling system for our instruments located in ERB B06. The rollout is expected to be fully implemented by July 31^st.

What this means for you…

You will receive an invitation to join a scheduling software called “Labarchives.” Please create a user account using the link in the email before June 30^th. If you register after this date, your access to the scope will be delayed.

Meanwhile, please continue to use the existing Google calendars to make reservation for your instruments. We will notify everyone when we have finished integrating the instruments into the calendar and generated appropriate documentation. We will provide online training for how to use this new reservation calendar at that time.

We expect to host a webinar to demonstrate the new features of the scheduling system after users have been given a chance to register. Please keep an eye out for future emails!

Network Access

Hello BECF users,

Network services have been restored. Please return to using your Kerberos login information when signing into the systems. Thank you!

General Update: Network Outage, FV1000 decommissioned, VS120 New features

Hello MNI users,

Here are a few updates.

GENERAL FACILITY ANNOUCEMENTS

Due to the diesel fuel spill, the network switches in the basement of ERB will need to be replaced. This replacement is scheduled for May 23rd, 2020 to May 27th, 2022, at which time, THERE WILL BE NO NETWORK ACCESS. FV3000 and VS120 users may still use the system but will need to use the local windows account to log in. This information is posted on the base or the back of the computer screen.

OLYMPUS FV1000 CONFOCAL

Due to the age of the system, the system is now unrepairable and has been decommissioned after 12 years of service to the BU CRC community. Access to this instrument's reservation calendar will be restricted and all objectives will be migrated to the Olympus FV3000 confocal.

OLYMPUS FV3000 CONFOCAL

1. The 561nm laser on the FV3000 has been replaced. Please remember to report any warning or error indicators to the MNI administration ASAP.
2. The LUCPLFLN20X, 20x, 0.45NA objective on the FV3000 is irreparably damaged. Mounting media or some corrosive liquid has permanently etched the glass on the objective. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU CHECK ALL OBJECTIVES AFTER USE AND CLEAN ANYTHING THAT YOU MAY HAVE POTENTIALLY SPILLED ONTO THE OBJECTIVES.
3. Due to the decommissioning of the FV1000 confocal, we now have additional objectives that can be used on this system. Please contact MNI administration for more information.

OLYMPUS VS120 SLIDE SCANNER

1. We are happy to announce that the Olympus VS120 slide scanner can now support two new imaging modalities
   • Birefringence microscopy: Birefringence is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. Birefringence microscopy utilizes biological features which exhibits birefringence to provide label-free contrast in visualize biological  features at the micron scale. Myelin is a typical biological feature that exhibits a high degree of birefringence and has been used for histopathological studies of myelin degradation in brain sections of humans and other model organisms. Visit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7984970/ or contact MNI staff for more information on how this can help you with your research.
   • Metallurgical microscopy: While pathology is typically performed using transmitted light because biological specimens are nominally transparent, focused ion beam microscopy and electron microscopy require slides with conductive surfaces which are often opaque. With new hardware, the VS120 has expanded its capabilities to include pathological imaging using metallurgical microscopy, which means the system can now image biological samples mounted on opaque microscope slides. For more information, please contact us and we will be happy to help you.
2. MNI now offers slide scanning services so you can focus on your science! Visit https://www.bu.edu/becf/files/2021/10/MNI-Core-Services.pdf or contact the MNI staff for assistance.

General Announcement: BECF and MNI Confocal status

Hello Everyone,

Here are a few general announcements

Diesel Spill

You may have noticed the smell of diesel fuel in the BECF core facilities. An announcement was made by BME administration regarding the diesel fuel spill and we are supposed to be back to normal operation by 05/04/22. However, there is significant amount of residual fumes inside the BECF core facilities and I want to caution our users that long term exposure is not advised. If you can, please try to reschedule/delay your imaging experiments to avoid breathing in these fumes.

Confocal FV3000: 561nm Laser

The 561nm laser on the FV3000 has been damage and requires replacement. While the instrument is still operational, you will not be able to use the 561nm excitation laser. Due to the diesel spill, repair has been delayed and is expected to occur next week Friday.

Confocal FV3000: Dirty Objectives

Inspection of the system it appears that some type of liquid may have accidently been spilled onto the LUCPLFLN20x objective. The liquid dried on the objective and there appears to be significant and likely irreparable damage. All users are reminded to inspect ALL objectives prior to use. If you notice anything suspicious, please notify MNI administration immediately.

See your Sample in Super-Resolution!

Hello everyone,

In partnership with Olympus Life Sciences, the MNI Core Facility is excited to host a tech talk and demonstration of a turnkey super-resolution microscope in our core facility. The super-resolution technique uses localization microscopy to extract the position of single proteins down to the 10nm scale. To learn more about the super resolution instrument add-on, visit

www.abbelight.com

We will be holding a one hour informational technology talk through Zoom on November 29th, 2021 at 10:00am EST. The zoom link is below.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86559447000?pwd=bU00WHlOU0piODBNckpzNDhwK3p2UT09

Please contact us to demo your sample under the scope. The link below is a link to the calendar where you can schedule time to demo the system.

https://calendly.com/olympuslifescience/abbelight-event-bostonuniversity?month=2021-12

In addition, the FAQ below will update periodically as questions come in.

Please remember that the aim of this demo is not to get the highest quality image but to gather enough data to demonstrate the need for such an instrument at BU. The goal would be to get as many users on the scope and write an S10 using preliminary data that was generated on this system.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will the virtual tech talk be about?

The talk will be presented by Abbelight and will discuss some basic concepts of how Single Molecule Localization Microscopy (SMLM) works, what samples would work best, and what dyes are compatible. They will then discuss their technology followed by a questions and answers period from the audience.

Do you have any advice for sample preparation?

STORM sample preparation is sample dependent and some are more "STORM-friendly" than others. Tissue or sample sections with a thickness larger than 30 microns is not suitable for STORM. The ideal sample would be mono-layer cells or anything with a thickness that is less than 10um. The objective being used is a 100x objective with a working distance ~ 100um from the coverglass. Your sample must be located somewhere in this range.

For the system being demo'd, cells or samples

1. must be on #1.5 high-resolution coverslips

2. Coverslips must be 22mm x 22mm squares, 25mm diameter, or larger!

3. must be kept in PBS until your arrive at the imaging facility and are ready to image.

What can I image with the three STORM, PALM and PAINT?

The image below shows a brief table of what you can image with these three SMLM techniques. For the purpose of the demo, we only image using STORM.

Do you have a recommended dye for this demo?

For first trials, Abbelight recommends single color slides stained with primary and AF647-conjugated secondary antibodies. For multi-color imaging, use AF568/555 and AF647 or AF647 and CF680.  If you would like to share your staining protocol and have us provide some advice, please reach out through our online submission form below.

Technical Bulletin Annoucement

Attention all FV1000 confocal users,

There is a new technical bulletin for the FV1000 confocal which affects users trying to image fluorescent dyes requiring the 543nm and 643nm lasers. Please review the technical bulletin and contact MNI administration if you are encountering problems.

The technical bulletin can be found here.

Thank you.

Core Facility COVID Policies Update

With the lifting of the emergency orders by the state and BU's requirements, we are happy to announce the following updates/modifications to the BECF core facility COVID policies. Per BU Policy

• All core users are still required to continue with daily attestation and weekly COVID testing regardless of vaccination status.
• Users must still wear masks at all times regardless of vaccination status.
• Limitations on single user occupancy per instrument/pod and COVID cleaning protocols for each instrument is now rescinded.
• Directional restrictions in the core facility are no longer in effect.
• The 30 minute gap requirement between reservations is now rescinded.

Core User Agreement Update

Hello everyone,

There is an update to the core user agreement to include questions regarding IBC protocol. Please review the updated guidelines as you will be required to provide this information in your annual re-registration.

3.1. All work involve rDNA, bacteria, animal cells and tissues (including human cells and tissues) and biological toxins must have an up-to-date IBC protocol on file.
3.2. All hazardous materials must be transported to and from the core facility in a spill proof, shatter proof secondary container. PIs must include the relevant BME core facility room number(s) in the RESEARCH LABORATORY FACILITY INFORMATION on the IBS protocol.
3.3. When handling hazardous materials in the core facility, users must follow their individual lab safety protocols, wear lab coats, goggles and gloves.
3.4. Instruments used to analyze biological samples (BSL1 and BSL2) must be surface decontaminated with 70% ethanol, all liquid waste must be treated with 10% bleach final concentration for 30 minutes before flushing down the drain, all contaminated solid waste must be disposed of in the biohazard waste container, all pathological waste must be transported back to the originating lab for appropriate disposal.

BECF Admin

Leica STELLARIS Confocal Workshop at BU

The Proteomics and Imaging Core Facility is hosting Leica Microsystems and their STELLARIS confocal microscope in LSEB 448 from September 23-October 15th, 2020.

If you would like them to image a sample, they can be dropped off for a virtual demo or you can arrange for a socially distanced in person demo. Here are some highlights of their system

• white light laser enables near imaging with IR fluorophores
• TauGating can decrease autofluorescence while preserving image signal
• ImageCompass provides an intuitive workflow and smart user interface
• TauContrast and TauSeparation takes advantage of fluorescence lifetime information

For a complete list of technical advances, please refer to the attached brochure.