Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Left-hand image: The distribution of immune cells (white) and blood vessels (pink) in white adipose tissue (image captured using the THUNDER Imager 3D Cell Culture). Right-hand image: The same image after automated analysis using Aivia, with each immune cell color-coded based on its distance to the nearest blood vessel. Image courtesy of Dr. Selina Keppler, Munich, Germany.

Accurately Analyze Fluorescent Widefield Images

The specificity of fluorescence microscopy allows researchers to accurately observe and analyze biological processes and structures quickly and easily, even when using thick or large samples. However,…

Raw widefield (left) and THUNDER (right) image of Ewing Sarcoma cells (SK-ES-1).

Visualizing the Mitotic Spindle in Cancer Cells

This article demonstrates how this research is aided by visualizing more details of mitotic spindles in Ewing Sarcoma cells using the THUNDER Imager Tissue and Large Volume Computational Clearing…

Maximum intensity projection of undecalcified mouse bone tissue expressing GFP (green) and tdTomato (red) and stained with Hoechst 33342 (blue). Imaged using a THUNDER Imager Tissue: A) raw data and B) with ICC.

Localizing Bone Stem Cells In Vivo

This article demonstrates how undecalcified mouse bone samples can be investigated in detail more easily and rapidly with a cryohistological method used in combination with a THUNDER Imager Tissue and…

Fluorescently stained mouse tibia, imaged with a THUNDER Imager 3D Tissue. Courtesy of Dr. Anjali Kusumbe, University of Oxford, UK.

High-resolution 3D Imaging to Investigate Tissue Ageing

Award-winning researcher Dr. Anjali Kusumbe demonstrates age-related changes in vascular microenvironments through single-cell resolution 3D imaging of young and aged organs.

Role of Mucins and Glycosylation in Dry Eye Disease

This article shows how fast, high-contrast, and sharp imaging of stratified human corneal epithelial cells with THUNDER imaging technology for dry eye disease (DED) research allows membrane ridges to…

Cortical Contributions to Complex Learning

This article describes the use of sharp, high contrast imaging to facilitate assessment of viral-construct placement in rat cortical brain tissue. Complex learning is often investigated through use of…

Optimizing THUNDER Platform for High-Content Slide Scanning

With rising demand for full-tissue imaging and the need for FL signal quantitation in diverse biological specimens, the limits on HC imaging technology are tested, while user trainability and…

C. elegans Gonades - THUNDER Imager Adult hermaphrodit, Staining: blue - DAPI (Nucleus), green - SP56 (sperms), red - RME-2 (oocyte), mangenta - PGL-1 (RNA + protein granules) Image courtesy of Prof. Dr. Christian Eckmann, Martin Luther University, Halle, Germany

Physiology Image Gallery

Physiology is about the processes and functions within a living organism. Research in physiology focuses on the activities and functions of an organism’s organs, tissues, or cells, including the…

THUNDER image of a section of mouse lung where the mouse was inoculated with the Puerto Rico 8 strain of influenza virus. The lung tissue was immunofluorescently stained with Keratin-5 (green) and PDL-1 (red). Image courtesy of Andrew Beppu, Stripp Lab, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA.

Monitoring Immunosuppressive Mechanisms from Infection

This application note discusses the importance of fast, sensitive, and haze-free imaging for the monitoring of immunosuppression in mouse lung epithelial tissue infected with the Puerto Rico 8…