Olympus FV4000-MPE Multiphoton Microscope for Intravital Imaging

Project Summary/Abstract In this proposal, we request funds from the Shared Instrumentation Grant mechanism for the procurement of an Olympus FV4000-MPE Multiphoton Laser Scanning Microscope equipped with a Spectra-Physics tunable infrared Ti:Sapphire pulsed laser. This equipment will be used to establish the first Multiphoton Intravital Microscopy (MP-IVM) imaging facility at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. This resource will be accessible to all investigators at Penn and across the greater Philadelphia area, offered as a service by the Cutaneous Phenomics and Transcriptomics (CPAT) Core of the Penn Skin Biology and Disease Resource-based Center (SBDRC). Intravital microscopy, which involves the direct imaging of live mice and other small animals, enables the visualization of tissues and cells in their natural environment. Multiphoton microscopy is a powerful laser scanning imaging modality that has revolutionized the ability to visualize biological processes in living organisms with high spatial and temporal resolution. Unlike conventional microscopy, multiphoton excitation reduces light scattering, photodamage, and phototoxicity. It enables the non-invasive study of cellular dynamics, signaling pathways, and tissue architecture in real-time. Additionally, it offers unprecedented depth penetration, allowing for the visualization of tissue structures up to a millimeter deep, surpassing the capabilities of traditional confocal microscopy. These attributes make multiphoton microscopy ideal for the study of the skin and other accessible organs. This technology is rapidly becoming an invaluable tool for studying dynamic processes such as tissue regeneration, wound healing, aging, and disease progression. With the Olympus FV4000-MPE microscope, the new MP-IVM facility in the SBDRC CPAT Core will be broadly available and easily accessible to investigators studying skin biology, as well as those interested in biological processes accessible to intravital imaging, including immunology, vascular biology, neurobiology, ocular biology, musculoskeletal biology, and stem cell biology. The research projects outlined in this application are the product of a diverse array of NIH-funded investigators at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, each with unique expertise and research interests. They leverage the extraordinary capability of multiphoton microscopy to visualize their cells and tissues of interest at high spatiotemporal resolution, conducting multidisciplinary experiments. The availability of a multiphoton microscope will significantly empower and expand the research directions of these investigators and open new avenues of research for new users of this resource. The requested Olympus FV4000-MPE Multiphoton Laser Scanning Microscope will be the only instrument configured specifically for mouse intravital imaging, available on a shared-user basis for the entire University of Pennsylvania Medical School.