About Us

BMIF - About Us

The Katharina Gaus Light Microscopy Facility was established in 2009 with the aim to build a fluorescence microscopy facility of the highest international standard. Currently, the facility contains over 40 of the latest advanced fluorescence microscopes and associated spectroscopy equipment which are supported by a group of specialist staff. 

The core mission of the facility is to

  • Conduct excellent training in specimen preparation, acquisition, and analysis of fluorescence microscopy data
  • Provide high-end research support to scientists dedicated to biomedical research
  • Provide access to expertise, and enable usage of state-of-the-art imaging
  • Conduct collaborative research in technique development and analysis solutions
  • Develops frontier technologies in bioengineering and bionanotechnology
  • To lead Australia in the establishment and testing of new microscopes and imaging technologies

Falling within the UNSW Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre (MWAC), the Katharina Gaus Light Microscopy Facility has become a world-class imaging facility that enables innovative, cross-disciplinary research at the forefront of fundamental biomolecular sciences.  The BMIF is particularly strong in cell and single-molecule imaging.

Our microscopes enable:

  • 2-photon and Intravital Microscopy
  • Biological / Soft Material Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
  • Confocal Microscopy - Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM)
  • Airy scan microscopy
  • Epifluorescence for live cell imaging
  • Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS)
  • Fluorometer and Lifetime Spectroscopy
  • Spinning Disc Microscopy
  • Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Microscopy
  • Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM)
  • Superresolution Fluorescence Microscopy including photo-activation localisation microscopy (PALM)
  • Time-Resolved Single-Molecule Imaging including Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM)
  • Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy
  • Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM)
  • Apotome - Structured Illumination
  • Gaussian and Lattice Lightsheet microscopy imaging (LSFM)
  • Slide scanning (Brightfield, darkfield, phase contrast, polarized and fluorescence)
  • Multiplex fluorescent microscopy imaging and spectral unmixing
  • Second-Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy
  • Ptychography - Quantitative Phase Imaging (QPI)