How to get access
The equipment is either shared or affiliated with one of the research groups at the Centre. Every user needs an introduction from a facility technician before using an instrument for the first time. Several instruments have an online booking system with no restriction on time or duration.
If you are a visiting researcher or an external collaborator, agree on use with your host group well before your stay. That settles training, access and costs in advance. The list below was last updated on 3 March 2025.
Equipment at the Centre
Open the boxes for details on the instruments in each area.
Microscopy and image analysis
Olympus SpinSR10 spinning disc microscope
Allows rapid super-resolution imaging of live cells with minimal phototoxicity. Lasers at 405, 488, 561, 640, 445 and 514 nanometres, and a dual camera set-up for simultaneous imaging of two channels. A motorized stage and acquisition speeds down to 5 milliseconds per frame make it possible to image many regions or entire slides quickly. FRET is available using a high-power 445 nanometre laser, and a 3.2x secondary magnification objective gives super resolution.
FV3000 confocal laser scanning microscope
A flexible imaging platform with silicon objectives that allow imaging deep inside large tissue samples. The hybrid scanner acquires up to 438 frames per second, and Olympus super-resolution technology gives resolution down to 120 nanometres. FRET is available with any laser. Both the FV3000 and the SpinSR10 have UPLXAPO 10x air objectives and UPlanSApo 30x, 40x and 60x silicon and 60x oil objectives.
Femto-2D multiphoton microscope
Used mainly for two-photon microscopy and calcium and voltage imaging in deep tissue and highly autofluorescent samples. A Femtonics 2D upright microscope based on the Olympus BX61 WI, with 20x water immersion and 60x oil immersion objectives. A Coherent Chameleon Ultra II laser gives an output above 3.5 W at 800 nanometres and a tuning range from 690 to 1080 nanometres. Three PMT detectors, a CMOS camera and a motorized stage, mounted on an optical table.
Leica Stellaris 8 Falcon confocal microscope
Used for laser-scanning fluorescence confocal microscopy of fixed and live samples, multi-position and multi-well imaging, optogenetic manipulation and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). A motorized, inverted DMi8 with HC PL APO objectives in 20x air, 40x water, 40x glycerol and 63x water. A 405 nanometre diode laser and a white light laser, three detectors, a water pump for long acquisitions and a temperature control chamber.
Compound microscopes
The Zeiss Imager M2 is a motorized transmission and epifluorescence microscope with objectives from 5x to 100x, brightfield and DIC, filter cubes for GFP, mCherry and CFP, and both colour and monochrome cameras on an antivibration table. The Nikon Eclipse E800 has objectives from 10x to 100x, brightfield and DIC and filter cubes for DAPI, GFP and YFP. The Zeiss Examiner A1 has a fixed stage, objectives from 2.5x to 100x, and brightfield, DIC and polarization.
Dissecting microscopes
The Zeiss Discovery V8 has 8x zoom, on-axis optics and a transmission light base. The Leica M165 FC is an epifluorescence dissecting microscope with 16.5x zoom, brightfield, darkfield and Rottermann contrast, filter cubes for GFP and Texas Red, and a colour camera at 3340 x 2830 pixels.
Image processing workstation
A dedicated image processing workstation running Windows and Imaris 8.4.
Microinjection, cell sorting and sample handling
The microinjection facility
Three Nikon TE2000 microscopes and one TE300, all inverted, with transmitted light, DIC and fluorescence. Filter cubes for DAPI, EGFP, EYFP, ECFP and TRITC, objectives at 4x, 10x, 20x and 40x, and manual Narishige micromanipulators. The three TE2000 stations use Eppendorf FemtoJet injectors and CellTram oil manipulators to immobilize the zygotes. Booking is online with no restriction on time or duration.
WOLF G2 cell sorter
A benchtop microfluidics-based cell sorter with flow cytometry features. Two lasers at 488 and 561 nanometres and four emission bandpass filters allow detection of up to nine fluorophores. It sorts both in bulk and as single cells into 96- and 384-well plates, at more than 5,000 events per second with up to 99 per cent purity.
Lonza 4D-Nucleofector cell transfection
Substrate-independent transfection of cells with DNA, RNA, RNPs and proteins. Used by the Burkhardt group to transfect choanoflagellates. The unit takes 20 microlitre Nucleocuvette strips and 100 microlitre single cuvettes, and handles 20,000 to 20 million cells. Users buy their own cuvettes and buffers.
ÄKTA pure 25 protein purification
A system for purifying proteins, peptides, nucleic acids and other biomolecules, available in the Burkhardt group. It supports affinity and ion-exchange chromatography with MonoQ and MonoS columns, and gel filtration with Superdex 75 and 200 columns to study protein-protein interactions.
Leica CM1860 cryostat
For routine histology on frozen samples. It gives sections from 1 to 100 micrometres at chamber temperatures from 0 to minus 35 degrees. Cutting is done with a Leica C-profile stainless steel knife, with one knife reserved for visiting users. Booking is by calendar with no time restriction.
3D printer
An Ultimaker S5 FDM printer with a build volume of 330 x 240 x 300 millimetres, available in the Christiaen group. The dual extruder allows printing with support material or composites including high-strength glass or carbon fibre, and the printer has automatic bed levelling and material handling.
Sequencing and genome analysis
MiSeq sequencer
Sequences DNA and cDNA libraries carrying Illumina adapters. Concentration and size distribution should be checked before every run, using standard approaches such as Qubit, Bioanalyzer, qPCR or TapeStation. The kit version determines the output, up to 15 gigabases corresponding to 25 million reads, and read lengths up to 300 base pairs paired-end.
Nanopore long-read sequencing
An Oxford Nanopore PromethION 2 Solo and a MinION. The platform sequences both DNA and RNA, either amplified or native so that endogenous modifications such as methylation are captured. Fragment lengths range from around 200 bases to millions of bases. The PromethION suits high-throughput experiments, while the MinION fits in a pocket and can be used in the field.
10X Genomics Chromium X
The Chromium X and the Chromium controller support any current 10X Genomics single-cell assay, profiling from thousands to hundreds of thousands of cells. All accessory devices used during sample and library preparation are available on site, including magnetic racks, a vortex adapter and a Bioanalyzer.
Bio-Rad CFX Opus 96 qPCR
A 96-well capacity with sample sizes from 1 to 50 microlitres. It detects up to five dyes using six LED filters for excitation from 450 to 584 nanometres and six photodiode detectors from 515 to 730 nanometres, including SYBR Green, FAM, HEX, ROX and Cy5. CFX Maestro software handles melt-curve analysis.
Electrophysiology
The Lynagh group has a two-electrode voltage clamp set-up for large cells running HEKA software, and a patch-clamp set-up for small cells. The patch-clamp rig consists of an inverted IX83 microscope, a Siskiyou piezo exchanger, an Axon Instruments 200B amplifier with software, 4x and 20x objectives, brightfield and GFP fluorescence, and a 2.3 megapixel CMOS camera running at up to 41 frames per second.
The group also has an MF-2 microforge for polishing micropipettes, with holders for 1, 1.2 and 1.5 millimetre pipettes, and a Gonotec Osmomat osmometer for solutions. The set-up suits users who already have experience with electrophysiology.
Equipment outside the Centre
Research facilities and specialized equipment elsewhere at the University of Bergen are not directly available to people outside the university, but can be made available through one of the groups at the Centre. This includes electron microscopy, genomics services, histology and the use of research vessels.
Plan this before your visit so that both access and costs are settled. Sequencing projects must be agreed well in advance with both a group leader and the technician at the genomics facility, and research vessels must be booked far ahead. Every user needs an introduction from a facility technician before using an instrument.