We are going to upgrade our NIKON A1 confocal system with the incubator for long lasting live cell imaging - the incubator should contain atmosfere humidifier, CO2, temperature control etc. Please share your opinions on what system do you consider best and why? What to avoid ? What may be beneficial? The microscope will be used not only for live cell imaging so the system should be reconfigurable . We are looking for something from the top shelf but easy to maintain sterile environment and user friendly.
I got same question about a year ago. Depending on usage pattern you can choose between various setups. Open system (LCI chamber: heated probe+objective+/-CO2) is better suitable for short term experiments, but is much easier to disassembly and less expensive. Closed system (controlled environmental incubator) is widely used in long term experiments, but disassembling may be problematical and this set up have relatively high price. This is in short.
But you can find more details on this page www.microscopyu.com/articles/livecellimaging/livecellmaintenance.html
Thank you we will probably decide for OKO- LAB or TOKAIHIT cage incubators and I was wondering if someone could share an opinion about the advantages and robustness of particular assembles?
We got Zeiss LSM microscope and we bought Zeiss XL closed system for it. On my opinion it is not so easy to disassembly. I worked in another institute with open system (don't remember its name), it detaches from microscope pretty well.
Hi Tomasz,
we got a new Nikon based spinning disc setup with a OKO-Lab stage top incubator with full environmental control, as you can determine eg. also the O2 content. I think this system is quite good. It is quite flexible and easy to mount as well.
Our Leica CLSM systems have the big incubator cages which I personally don't like to much because it is less comfortable with sample handling ..
Best,
Claus
Thanks - we already bought an OKO-lab system and for now it seem to be flexible and comfortable.
We've used full cage systems (a la OKO) and stage-top incubators. I really(!) dislike the cage systems and strongly prefer the stage-top systems.
We are currently using a TOKAI HIT on our Nikon Ti scope equipped with a C2si confocal scanner. It's wonderfully flexible. Strongly recommended.
I would say that the question doesn't stand Okolab vs. Tokai Hit. There are many solutions from other companies as well.
Recently I wrote a blog post for FocalPlane about temperature control in light microscopy. I think it could be useful for some people reading this thread.
https://focalplane.biologists.com/2021/09/09/temperature-control-in-light-microscopy-challenges-and-solutions-interherence-vaheat/
disclosure: I work for a company that produces a temperature control device. It's called VAHEAT and it could be the device for you, if you do a lot of high resolution microscopy, need high temperature precision, need temperature cycles, not just a constant temperature, use microfluidics and more. interherence.com/vaheat/
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