intelligent imaging innovations, inc.


Marianas™

The 3i Marianas™ system represents the ultimate inverted digital microscopy workstation. Marianas™ is composed of state-of-the-art optics, opto-electronics, CCD cameras, software and computers tailored for your specific application. Marianas™ fully integrates with SlideBook™ software. Marianas™ is equipped for both live and fixed cell widefield epifluorescence applications as well as transmitted illumination techniques. Common uses of Marianas™ include multidimensional imaging (6D applications), ratiometric imaging, FRET, 3D deconvolution, timelapse, large format montage, stereology and more. Advanced options further expand the capabilities of this system. Advanced options give you the ability to address a wide variety of applications. These options include spinning disk confocal, environmental control, FRAP, FLIP, photoactivation and uncaging, TIRF, FLI, single molecule studies, real-time deconvolution, rapid 4D, simultaneous dual camera acquisition and synchronization with electrophysiology and automated perfusion systems.

Complete System Motorization - Marianas™ is designed to have complete computer control of the entire microscope. This allows our SlideBook™ software to easily orchestrate complicated data collection protocols involving illumination control, filter selection, position regulation, detector selection, etc. The points of computer control, and the precision of automation are listed below:

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  • X,Y-Axis (100 nm reproducibility due to linear encoders)
  • Z-Axis (25 nm minimum step, 50 nm reproducibility due to harmonic drive)
  • Fluorescence shutter (2 ms timing)
  • Fluorescence intensity (2 ms timing, 8 settings)
  • Fluorescence Excitation filter (4 positions, 2 ms switch time)
  • Fluorescence/Reflected light filter turret (5 positions, 0.5 second switch time)
  • Objective turret (automatic parafocal offset)
  • Transmitted light turret (bright field, dark field, DIC and phase ring position)
  • Transmitted field diaphragm
  • Transmitted aperature diaphragm
  • Transmitted light intensity
  • ND filter
  • Camera position prism
  • Spherical Aberration Correction Setting

Critical Fluorescence Illumination - Marianas™ is equipped with a scrambled and stabilized 175 Watt Xenon light source designed to fill the back aperature of objectives delivering an intense, uniform and stably illuminated field.
The light scrambling is particularly important for deconvolution applications because it makes illumination axially and laterally uniform. This keeps the Point Spread Function (PSF) the same over the imaged volume.

Spherical Aberation Correction - Spherical Aberration is the most serious monochromatic aberration in microscopy. It arises when the observed sample does not have the exact cover slip, mounting medium and immersion medium specified by the lens designer. Practically, this occurs with every biological sample.

Marianas™ comes standard with a patented motorized spherical aberration system from Infinity Photo-optical. This system, exclusively available from 3i, along with SlideBook™ for Marianas™ automatically adjusts optics to dynamically correct for spherical aberration for every focal plane in the sample. This yields data with the highest possible resolution and greatest contrast. These aberration free data are optimal for Deconvolution and 3D morphometrics.

Custom Optimized Optics Selection - Every scientific experiment is different and has a different set of optical requirements for optimal data collection. Each Marianas™ system comes with optics specifically tailored to each researcher's individual requirements.

System considerations include magnification, wavelength transmittance, working distance, DIC or phase optics requirements, and fluorescence probe requirements.

Each Marianas™ system includes optimized filter sets that are thickness and wedge matched to have no lateral chromatic shift. In addition, filters are anti-reflective coated to maximize transmittance and optimize optical performance.

State-of-the-art Detectors - The camera on our Marianas™ system is optimized for sensitivity and collection speed. The sensor is a Sony extended quantum efficiency interline SVGA CCD. The detector is cooled to reduce thermal noise. The cooling fan has been externalized to eliminate image distortion via vibration.

Marianas™ can be equipped with additional detectors such as Cascade cameras or ICCD's for certain applications like rapid 4D collection. A second standard camera can be added to Marianas™ for simultaneous dual emission collection for experiments such as live FRET.

SlideBook™ for Marianas™ - At the heart of every Marianas™ system is our state-of-the-art SlideBook™ software. SlideBook™ for Marianas™ includes all the high-end functionality to fully take advantage of the system's automation. SlideBook™ seamlessly integrates x-,y- and z- stage motion with filter control and light shuttering to easily configure experiments as simple as 2D capture to as complicated as 4D multifluor and multi-mode imaging.