Functional and Molecular Imaging Center

The Core has both Bioluminescence and Fluorescence stations for in vivo small animal imaging.
The stations are easy to use and typically a one-hour training is all one needs to get familiar with each station.
(Minimal experience with animal handling, anesthesia, and Windows operating system is required.)

Bioluminescence Imaging Station

 Fluorescence Imaging Station

To ensure the smooth running of the facility we have developed user guidelines and regulations (see below). If however you have any questions about these guidelines, we welcome your inquiries and suggestions on how we could help you. Our aim is to attract the very best biomedical research and development projects to both facilities and to partner with you to ensure the success of these projects.

BICOR-FMIC Optical Imaging Center

• All users must complete an OPTICAL IMAGING CORE Users Access Form. This will generate a username and password. 
• Independent users must first finish a training session, after which they will be able to access the facility 24 hours a day.
• Reservations are made in one-hour increments. Bookings can be made up to three months in advance. Requests for unusually large blocks of time may be declined at the discretion of the facility staff.
• Occupational Health & OSHA and Fire Safety. Download the BWH Blue Book and you must also take this quiz.
  

Opportunities:

We often have opportunitues for visiting scholars with backgrounds in engineering, optics, biology, or computational science, to work in our lab for a period of from six months to two years.  The visiting scholars, depending on their backgrounds, may be involved in different aspects of our research, including hardware and software developing in optical imaging, small animal experiments. image processing, and bioinformatics.  Please contact me at xxu@bwh.harvard.edu for more information and availability of the positions. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is bioluminescence imaging?
A. When we think about bioluminescence, we can think of firefly. A firefly produces light via a chemical reaction involving the pigment luciferin and the enzyme luciferase. Luciferase catalyzes the oxyidation of luciferin which results in the lighting of the firefly's tail.

In small animal imaging, an animal such as a mouse is first genetically transfected with luciferase vector. Second the mouse is administered with luciferin. Then the mouse is put in a sealed dark chamber for imaging. The image is then captured by a CCD camera. Bioluminescence imaging enables the visualization of genetic expression and physiological processes at the molecular level in living tissues. Because there is no competing background signal, it can be used to detect much lower levels of light. Small animal imaging using bioluminescent sources has become increasingly more adapted over recent years. The use of bioluminescent sources, such as cells tagged with light-emitting probes, allows detection of gene expression in living cells, which is a well-established technique for non-invasive studies at cellular and molecular levels. In vivo imaging of bioluminescent sources in the living animals (e.g. genetically engineered mice) offers the opportunity to evaluate pathologic progression in a more compressed time frame and with a greater resolution, which is of increasing importance to understand the biologic basis for pathologic disease manifestations.

Q. What can I do with in vivo bioluminescence imaging?
A. With in vivo bioluminescence imaging, you can study tumor growth, gene expression, regenerative medicine, developmental therapeutics, treatment of residual minimal disease, and cancer stem cells and much more. People have found uses of bioluminescence imaging in cardiovascular, oncology, antisense, virology, immunology, etc.

Q. What is fluorescence imaging?
A. When we think about biofluorescence, we can think of jellyfish. The jellyfish (Aequorea victoria) produces a naturally fluorescent protein known as green fluorescent protein (GFP). The jellyfish glow comes from the interaction of two proteins: aequorin and GFP. Aequorin emits blue light when it reacts with calcium and this light then excites GFP which in turn emits in the green portion of the spectrum.

Fluorescence results from a process that occurs when certain molecules (generally polyaromatic hydrocarbons or heterocycles) called fluorophores, fluorochromes, or fluorescent dyes absorb light. The absorption of light by a population of these molecules raises their energy level to a brief excited state. As they decay from this excited state, they emit fluorescent light. While GFP is one of the widely used fluorescent proteins, there are yellow and red fluorescent protein as well.

Q. What can I do with in vivo fluorescence imaging?
A. With in vivo biofluorescence imaging, you can track cell movement, cell growth, and even some cell functions. Thus, fluorescence imaging can be used in intact animals for disease detection, screening, diagnosis, drug development, and treatment evaluation and much more.

Q. Can I use quantom dot with in vivo fluorescence imaging?
A. Yes, you can.

Q. How do I make reservation to use the stations?
A. If you already have an account, please go to  On line reservations  to login using the group name OIC and your username and password. Once you log in, click on 'Resources' to select IVIS100 for bioluminescent imaging or NightOwl for fluorescence imaging. You can then reserve time slots by clicking and dragging the cursor over the hours you want. To modify or cancel a reservation, point the cursor to a reserved time slot and right click to cancel the time slot and then make a new reservation if needed.

If it is your first time to use the on-line reservation, please contact the Director xxu@bwh.harvard.edu  to create a new account.