The Columbia University microbeam II endstation for cell imaging and irradiation

The Columbia University Microbeam II has been built to provide a focused ion beam for irradiating designated mammalian cells with single particles. With the interest in irradiating non-stained cells and cells in three-dimensional tissue samples, the endstation was designed to accommodate a variety of imaging techniques, in addition to fluorescent microscopy. Non-stained cells are imaged either by quantitative phase microscopy (QPm) [IATIA, Box Hill North, Victoria, 3129, Australia [1]] or by Mirau interferometry. In conjunction with the focused microbeam, a proposed multi-photon microscope will offer the opportunity to probe live cells at selected depths in tissue samples; dynamic events in such tissue samples are more representative of biological system response than those in cell cultures.