Human induced pluripotent stem cells which endogenously express mEGFP-tagged lamin B1 (AICS-0013). Images generated using AICS-0013 (LMNB1-mEGFP) from the Allen Institute for Cell Science. The overnight experiment was recorded for close to 8 hours with one volume imaged every 1.5 min.

T cell expressing Lifeact-GFP. Color-coded depth projection and maximum intensity projection side-by-side. The T cell was imaged constantly for over 1 hr; one volume every 2.5 secs. Sample courtesy of M. Fritzsche, University of Oxford, UK

Video: LLC-PK1 cell undergoing mitosis. Cells are expressing H2B-mCherry (cyan) and α-Tubulin mEGFP (magenta), recording over a period of 25 hours.

Cos 7 cells transiently transfected with CalnexinmEmerald and EB3-tdTomato. EB3 labels the growing ends of microtubules and is necessary for the regulation of microtubule dynamics. Calnexin is a protein of the ER where proteins are synthesized. Cells were imaged for 1.5 hrs every 80 secs, imaged volume: 175 × 120 × 70 μm³.

Spheroids and organoids are in vitro models of organs – much smaller and simpler but easy to produce and thus for developmental biologists an invaluable tool to study organ development. Unlike cell cultures, which usually consist of a monolayer of cells only, cells in spheroids / organoids form three-dimensional structures, allowing for the investigation of cell migration and differentiation inside 3D cell models. With lattice light sheet microscopy, imaging the development and self-organization of organoids becomes reality. Here, we can see a 3D rendering of a spheroid consisting of cells expressing H2B-mCherry (cyan) and α-Tubulin-mEGFP (magenta). Not every cell is labelled.

DeltaD-YFP transgenic zebrafish embryo (Liao et al. 2016, Nature Communications). Fusion protein driven by a transgene containing the endogenous regulatory regions, expression in the tailbud and pre-somitic mesoderm. Signal visible in the cell cortex, and in puncta corresponding to trafficking vesicles (green). Nuclei in magenta. The embryo was imaged for 5 minutes constantly; one volume (150 × 50 × 90 μm³) every 8 sec. Sample: courtesy of Prof. Andrew Oates, EPFL, Switzerland.

First exposure using the ground-breaking homebuilt Lattice Lightsheet system, developed by Eric Betzig and his team at Janelia Research Campus.

A concept is developed for an inverted system configuration and compatibility with standard samples.

ZEISS and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus sign an exclusive license agreement for the commercialisation of Lattice light sheet microscopy and development of a turnkey ZEISS system.

Eric Betzig is jointly awarded The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy” and landmark paper “Lattice light-sheet microscopy: Imaging molecules to embryos at high spatiotemporal resolution” is published in Science Magazine.

First biological data is acquired from demonstrator setup, at Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Jena.

Product engineering begins.
1. Implementation of a range of optical improvements through the development of autoimmersion, transmission and aberration correction features.
2. Development of software for improved system control, processing, data handling and auto alignment.

Beta testing programme begins at nine sites worldwide, with pre-serial systems placed in the United States, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Official launch of the series system ZEISS Lattice Lightsheet 7, making Lattice Light Sheet technology accessible to everyone - with its automatic alignments, easy workflows, inverted design and compatibility with standard sample carriers.

University of Oxford trailblaze with the first official installation of the ZEISS Lattice Lightsheet 7 globally, in a project led by Marco Fritzsche, Associate Professor and Rosalind Franklin Kennedy Trust Research Fellow at The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology.