{"id":78,"date":"2014-03-31T13:59:02","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T13:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/?page_id=78"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:24:48","slug":"confocal-microscopy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/?page_id=78","title":{"rendered":"Basics in fluorescence microscopy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title:<\/span><\/strong><\/span> Basics in fluorescence microscopy<\/strong>\"logo_LCAM\"<\/strong><\/span>
\nDate:<\/span> 26-29 January 2027 (annual)<\/strong><\/span>
\nLocation:<\/span> LCAM-FNWI, Sciencepark<\/strong><\/span>
\nContact:<\/span> LCAM-FNWI<\/strong><\/span>
\nPrevious editions:<\/span> 1996-2013, 2017-2020, 2022-2026<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

A basic\u00a0course for graduate students, postdocs and lab technicians in biology, biophysics and (bio)medicine. It\u00a0 provides detailed knowledge of the working principles of confocal imaging, with special emphasis on experiment related issues, such as optical aberrations, bleaching, specimen preparation, fluorescent probes, data analysis and representation. The course integrates theoretical lectures with hands-on experiments and practical experience, focused at cell biological studies. Experts in the field of microscopy will give an overview of \u201cstate-of-the-art\u201d imaging techniques in biological research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basics in fluorescence microscopy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This 4 day course is a basic course for PhD students, postdocs and technicians in biology and biomedical science who need widefield and\/or confocal microscopy for their experiments. It is our aim to teach how these light microscopy techniques can be used in celbiological research. After this course, participants will understand the basic optical principles of the widefield and confocal microscope and its limitations. In this course we will focus on basic technologies that can be used in biology such as multi-color (confocal) microscopy, ratio imaging, co-localization, phototoxicity and how to keep cells alive under the microscope. Furthermore, participants will be introduced to the latest developments in fluorescent probe & biosensor technology, sample preparation and an overview is presented discussing advanced technologies like FRET, FLIM, FRAP, FCS & super-resolution microscopy. The course consists of theoretical lectures (~50%) and hands-on experiments\u00a0(~50%) via practical work at the microscope and image analysis sessions. The teaching staff consists of experts in the field of light microscopy from the van Leeuwenhoek Centre of Advanced Microscopy. Participants are encouraged to discuss their specific problems during the course.<\/span><\/p>\n

Topics:<\/h2>\n

– Light, optics, microscopy and contrast<\/span>
\n– Confocal principle and the effect of the pinhole<\/span>
\n– Aberrations, magnification and resolution<\/span>
\n– Fluorescence, spectra and filters<\/span>
\n– Microscopy hardware: Lasers, lamps and detectors<\/span>
\n– Nyquist sampling theorem<\/span>
\n– Image deconvolution and restoration<\/span>
\n– Colocalization and image analysis<\/span>
\n– Dyes, fluorescent proteins and biosensors<\/span>
\n– Microscopy sample preparation and incubation<\/span>
\n– Overview functional imaging techniques FRET, FLIM, FRAP, FCS & SRM<\/span>
\n– Image processing using ImageJ<\/span>
\n– Microscopy data representation<\/span><\/p>\n

After the course the participants will have practical experience in the basic operation steps of the confocal scanning and widefield microscope and basic knowledge of advanced functional imaging techniques, the preparation of biological specimen and be able to perform simple image processing steps.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preliminary program<\/h2>\n

Tue 26 Jan 2027:<\/span>
\nLecture <\/strong><\/span>Microscopy principles
\nLecture<\/strong><\/span> Confocal microscopy
\nLecture<\/strong><\/span> Microscopy hardware & laser safety
\nPractical<\/strong> <\/span>Confocal microscopy basics<\/p>\n

Wed 27 Jan 2027:<\/span>
\nLecture<\/strong><\/span> Live cell microscopy & sample preparation
\nLecture<\/strong><\/span> Fluorescent dyes & probes
\nPractical<\/span><\/strong> Confocal microscopy advanced
\nPractical<\/strong> <\/span>Co-localization, Spinning disk & Wide-field ratio imaging & Time series <session1><\/p>\n

Thu 28 Jan 2027:<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span>Lecture<\/strong><\/span> with overview of functional imaging techniques
\nTutorial<\/strong> ImageJ basics -> laptop required
\nPractical<\/strong><\/span> Co-localization, Spinning disk & Wide-field ratio imaging & Time series <session2>
\nPractical<\/strong><\/span> Co-localization, Spinning disk & Wide-field ratio imaging & Time series <session3><\/p>\n

Fri 29 Jan 2027:<\/span>
\nLecture<\/strong><\/span> Microscopy data analysis
\nTutorial<\/strong> <\/span>Advanced image processing using ImageJ\u00a0 -> laptop required
\nPractical<\/strong><\/span> Co-localization, Spinning disk & Wide-field ratio imaging & Time series <session4>
\nLecture<\/strong> <\/span>Microscopy data representation
\nFinal discussion<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Participants: <\/strong>Minimum 12, Maximum 16 PhD students, technicians and postdocs.
\nLocation: <\/strong>Sciencepark, University of Amsterdam<\/span>
\nLevel:<\/strong> Starting microscopist with minor experience (next level:<\/em> Functional Imaging course)<\/span>
\nApplication: <\/strong>Application will be open from Late Oct with a deadline early Dec
\n<\/span>Costs (including coffee and lunches):<\/strong> Will be announced later (UvA-SILS participants can receive discount).<\/span>
\nOrganiser & info:<\/strong> LCAM-FNWI<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title: Basics in fluorescence microscopy Date: 26-29 January 2027 (annual) Location: LCAM-FNWI, Sciencepark Contact: LCAM-FNWI Previous editions: 1996-2013, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 Introduction A basic\u00a0course for graduate students, postdocs and lab technicians in biology, biophysics and (bio)medicine. It\u00a0 provides detailed knowledge of …<\/p>\n

Basics in fluorescence microscopy<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":48,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-78","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":95,"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1215,"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78\/revisions\/1215"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}