The “Live Cell Imaging” facility is equipped with tunable fs laser excitation source modules (660nm-5000nm) and dual beam, dual raster-scanning modules, accompanied with 5 simultaneous detection channels, which are covering the excitation and detection of plethora of dyes or other fluorescent markers.

It is based on a fully motorized Zeiss Axio Observer microscope with an incubator (Temperature and CO₂ control module) at the sample plane, which is appropriate for long observation times of living cells and tissues.

Apart from two-photon fluorescence (2pF) microscopy the custom-built Live Cell Imaging workstation is further equipped with polarization-resolved Second Harmonic Generation (P-SHG), polarization-resolved Third Harmonic Generation (P-THG) and Three-photon excited Fluorescence (3pF) imaging capabilities.

Consequently, except exogenous fluorescence markers (e.g. dyes) it can probe endogenous contrast agents which are appropriate e.g. for high resolution (<500nm) imaging of myofibroblasts, collagen type I, in fibrosis, wounds, joints, nanoliposomes etc.

Additionally, the Live Cell Imaging facility provides experimental and theoretical tools for the quantitative imaging of scaffolds (used for example as implants) seeded with living cells or other biological material.

Finally, the Live Cell imaging workstation is further equipped with nanosurgery and fast calcium imaging capabilities