UCSD Moores Cancer Center Laser Capture Microdissection Shared Resource

A new, more effective, and easy to use Laser Capture Microdissection platform is available to investigators at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and other researchers on and off campus. The microscope has far superior optics to any previous laser capture system, and control of laser cutting and selection is simple and accurate (see figure below). All manipulations -- movement of the stage, cutting of areas of interest, and capture of images before and after dissection – are automatically controlled by the software.

The MMI SL µCut Laser Capture Microdissection system is equipped with a solid state UV laser that guarantees precise cutting without damaging the tissue. Single cells or groups of cells can be isolated from paraffin sections, cryo samples, smears, and cell cultures. The captured cells can then be used in a wide range of downstream assays, such as gene expression analysis, genomic profiling using microarrays, or for proteomic analysis. The new adhesive film technology allows quantitative and contamination free isolation of RNA, DNA, or proteins for gene expression, gene chip analysis, RT–PCR, Q-PCR, and proteomics applications (typical RNA yields are 30-60 ng/1000 cells).

High precision xy-stage, and CCD camera allows identification, documentation, and dissection of multiple regions of interest from the same tissue specimen. The microscope is also equipped with fluorescence lamp and filters suitable for the identification of GFP, and RFP labeled cells, and fluorescent antibody labeled cells.