Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy
High impact science through systematic and quantitative imaging
Expertise
ACAM is equipped with an array of advanced microscopes for various applications of ultrastructural imaging, spatial molecular interrogations, high throughput imaging and in toto imaging.
Ultrastructure
Extra- and intracellular vesicles
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allows studying the ultrastructure of biological samples at the nanometre scale. ACAM has also implemented methods for investigating small particles with a minimum of artefacts (cryo-TEM) and in 3D (tomography) by means of high-pressure freezing (HPF)/freeze substitution (FS) for the best preservation of the ultrastructure in samples and the latest ultramicrotome for perfect sectioning.
Structure of nano carriers
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allows studying the topology of biological samples at the nanometre scale such as nano carriers
Spatial omics
Gene expression in micro-environments
To enable molecular interrogation of precisely defined regions within a tissue section, ACAM offers state-of-the-art laser microdissection technology. Cut and paste regions as small as single cells into a separate container for downstream analyses (e.g. qPCR).
Cyclic staining
Cyclic staining allows multiplexing many markers by alternating staining and imaging with chemical- and/or photo- inactivation or elution of fluorophores.
Precision
Super-resolution radial fluctuations
Using SRRF images can be reconstructed with a resolution below the diffraction limit of the microscope, offering superior detection of sub-cellular details including dendritic spines. Since SRRF resolution scales with the temporal activity in the image set at hand, the acquired images provide a functional as well as a morphological readout.
Proximity ligation assay
When assessing pairwise colocalization (e.g. readout for mature synapses), overlap is often incomplete and confounded by spurious signals. To circumvent this, we implemented a proximity ligation-based approach that only leads to a signal when two markers are sufficiently close.
Expansion microscopy
This technique allows nanoscale imaging using conventional diffraction-limited light microscopes based on isotropic expansion of the sample.
Automation
Profiling of synaptic connectivity
Using a combined strategy of morphological and functional imaging approaches, a neuronal connectivity profile of primary and iPSC derived cultures is made. This workflow can help to identify potential novel biomarkers or drug targets with relevance for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Cell phenotypic profiling
Cell profiling is a flagship technology of the core facility. The term refers to the combination of high-throughput microscopy (i.e., automated image acquisition to capture large image data sets) and high-content image analysis (i.e. exhaustive feature extraction, yielding high information content). This technology is exploited in the context of cell-based assays as well as slide screening (e.g. virtual pathology).
In toto
Whole brain staging of proteinopathies
Many neurodegenerative diseases are typified by molecular infectivity, with aggregates spreading through interconnected neuronal networks. Our expertise in chemical clearing allows to visualise the intact neurodegenerative brain using light sheet microscopy, making it possible to monitor the spatiotemporal spreading pattern of pathological aggregates and associated neurodegenerative features.
Cell states in cerebral organoids
The cerebral organoid is an emerging model system with high potential for both fundamental and applied neuroscience research. We are developing a pipeline that enables unbiased cellular phenotyping of intact cerebral organoids by using a combination of multiplex fluorescent labelling, light-sheet microscopy, and deep learning.
Unravelling the enteric nervous system
Our clearing strategies can also be applied to other organs (e.g. gut) to visualize entire tissue structures.
In vivo
New expertise