The Sutter Instrument MOM microscope is a modular platform for fluorerscence imaging deep within live samples. It uses multi-photon excitation by a titanium-sapphire laser in combination with non-descanned detection. Due to its pulsed excitation source and its high modularity the MOM system can easily be combined with the bh TCSPC FLIM systems. Up to four FLIM detectors can be attached to the system. The signals are processed in up to four entirely parallel TCSPC FLIM channels. Due to the parallel system architecture, high photon count rates and short acquisition times can be achieved. Multiphoton excitation and non-descanned detection make the system especially useful for FLIM of live cells and tissues. FLIM data can be recorded with up to 1024×1024 pixels and 1024 time channels per pixel. Typical applications are metabolic imaging by recording the fluorescence of NADH and FAD, protein interaction experiments by FLIM-FRET techniques, and ion concentration measurements with environment-sensitive fluorescent dyes. For more details please see application note ‘bh TCSPC Systems Record FLIM with Sutter MOM Microscopes‘.
Left: Two FLIM detectors attached to outputs 1 and 2 of the MOM beamsplitter assembly. Right: Salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus Salmonis), 512 x 512 pixels. Autofluorescence, excitation wavelength 750 nm, detection wavelength 440 to 480 nm. Amplitude-weighted lifetime of double-exponential decay.