SIM at HMS

Super-resolution Microscopy in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School


Access

The 3D-SIM microscope was acquired using funds from the Department of Cell Biology, the Office of Tools and Technology, and the Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology.  It is available for use by labs whose Principal Investigator has a primary appointment in one of the HMS basic science departments and LSP.

Contact Us for Access

3D-SIM Capabilities

  • Twofold increase in lateral (120nm) and axial (340nm) resolution with 3D Structured illumination
  • Fast 3D-SIM: 1 μm Z-stack (120 images) in as fast as 1 frame per second (at 1ms exposure)

In addition to SIM, the microscope Blaze also offers

  • Ring TIRF, reducing interference fringing
  • FRAP / Photoactivation / Photoconversion
  • Simultaneous 3-color widefield imaging with three sCMOS cameras
  • Hardware focus maintenance

SIM vs Widefield

170nm fluorescent beads imaged with widefield (WF) and structured illumination (SIM)