Leica Stellaris 5 in vivo Imaging Hub

Our state-of-the-art Leica Stellaris 5  looks deep into the cosmos of the living nervous system and other living cells in the organism.

GCaMP  – Revealing the hidden reality of neurons:

A genetically encoded calcium indicator makes neural activity visible—as a fluorescent glow in the sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia when calcium flows in. With GCaMP, we can decode the neural reality behind sensory perceptions in real time: a glimpse into the matrix of the nervous system. 
 

GCaMP was developed in 2001 and is based on a fusion of green fluorescent protein (GFP), calmodulin, and the M13 peptide sequence. Other innovative sensors are now available, such as Marina for voltage-dependent imaging or CaMPARI for permanent labeling of active neurons.

Specifications

Upright confocal Leica STELLARIS 5 laser scanning microscope equipped with white light laser (WLL) for freely adjustable excitation wavelengths and two HyD-S hybrid detectors with spectrally variable detection. The system offers a galvo and a fast resonance scanner, enabling both high-resolution and fast dynamic imaging. A dual objective stage allows direct switching between two objectives during the experiment.

The microscope features:

- A Scientifica stage with pre-drilled mounting points, ideal for physiology, optogenetics, perfusion, or complex micromanipulator setups.

- Leica K5 CMOS microscope camera for routine fluorescence imaging

- LAS X Electrophysiology software upgrade

- Direct MODulation 405 laser (DMOD)

Available objectives:

HC FLUOTAR L 25x/0.95 W VISIR – NA 0.95, working distance 2.5 mm

HC PL FLUOTAR 10x/0.32, working distance 11.2 mm

HC APO L 10x/0.30 W U-V-I, working distance 3.6 mm 

The combination of upright design, flexible sample access, and highly sensitive WLL/HyD technology enables applications ranging from tissue sections, in vivo imaging, optogenetics, calcium imaging, and structural morphology to fast resonance time series.

Department of Hand- and Plastic Surgery

Heltmann-Meyer S, Fleischer S, Kadam S, Boccaccini AR, Kirmsse S, Forster L, Teßmar J, Schrüfer S, Lamberger Z, Stahlhut P, Lang G, Bosserhoff AK, Arkudas A, Horch RE, Kengelbach-Weigand A and Schmid R*. Ink comparison for extrusion-based bioprinting in the context of breast cancer and melanoma models. International Journal of Bioprinting. 2025;11(2):249-269. doi: 10.36922/ijb.5828. (2024 Journal Impact factor 6.0), *Corresponding author: rafael.schmid(at)uk-erlangen.de 

The publication compares four different hydrogel bioinks for extrusion-based 3D bioprinting modeling of breast cancer and melanoma cell lines in terms of printability, cell survival, metabolic activity, and cell cycle behavior. The results showed that all inks are printable, but there are significant differences between the hydrogels in terms of cell growth and activity. To analyze cell morphology and colony formation, the Leica STELLARIS was used in LIGHTNING mode to capture confocal images for evaluating cell distribution and structure within the printed hydrogel constructs (Figure 10 in the publication).