Precision

Maintenance of the desired temperature set-point can now be achievedthrough the use of a precision, shielded temperature probe coupled to aperipheral Air-Therm heating unit. Noise is a major concern in anyexperimental application. WPI™s Air-Therm™ is electrically quiet aswell as acoustically quiet). Since the Air-Therm can be placed awayfrom the incubator, any residual electrical and vibrationalinterference from the heater is virtually eliminated. Accuracy of±0.1°C can be routinely maintained at the sample site (using a fullyprogrammable differential algorithm to automatically adjust thetemperature on the Air-Therm unit). Air-Therm maintains a uniformtemperature across the microscope stage (allowing for uniform heatingof multiwell dishes). These tight tolerances result in minimal focaldrift once sample/incubator equilibrium has been achieved.

Glass bottom dishes

For high numerical aperture (NA) live-cell imaging, cells must beplated on glass (e.g., WPI’s FluoroDish Glass Bottom Dishes, spotting0.17 mm glass thickness) or standard cover slips. Since cover slipsinherit other problems associated with sterility and accidental damageto expensive microscope condensers, WPI designed new and improved glassbottom dishes (35 mm x 10 mm or 35 mm X 22 mm) that are not cytotoxic.A special adhesive in conjunction with an advanced dish design makesthe FluoroDish theonly non-cytotoxic glass dish in the world. This means that cells canactually be cultured for 4 to 5 days in the same dish and then carrythe complete cell culture with media from the incubator directly intothe (Air-Therm controlled) recording chamber. This is a comfort levelthat hitherto was unattainable by scientists and clinical researcherssince cells will have to be transported from the culture dishes on tocover slips just prior to imagery or attaching patch electrodes.

Chamber

The most problematic aspect of any live cell imaging procedure orpatch clamp approach is the thermal drift of high magnification lensescaused by temperature fluctuations in the microscope's environment. Itis necessary to constantly readjust the focus during image acquisitiondue to this thermal-drift, introducing artifacts during quantitativemicroscopy due to the photo-bleaching that occurs during refocusing.The optimal solution to this problem is to use WPI’s Air-Thermtemperature controller connected to a Plexiglas or acrylic chamber thatencloses the entire imaging area (or at least the objectives and thestage). Using such a chamber will result in highly stable temperaturecontrol and minimal thermal drift.

Includes

Two pieces of 4.5 ft. clear, coil-reinforced heater hose are included with the Air-Therm.