
Scientific instruments developer Bruker has debuted its new neuroscience research solution, the OptoVolt multiphoton microscopy module, at the Neuroscience 2024 conference in Chicago.
The OptoVolt module is expected to further expand the advanced neuroscience research capabilities on Bruker’s Ultima 2Pplus multiphoton microscope platform.
The latest offering is designed to deliver kilohertz-level imaging speeds to over 1,000 frames per second. It captures millisecond dynamics of cell-to-cell neural communication.
According to Bruker, the OptoVolt module tackles the challenges of voltage imaging with advanced scanner technology.
The module utilises voltage indicator proteins, like ASAP4 from Stanford University and JEDI-2P from Baylor University, ensuring compatibility with modern research. It is said to operate at ultrafast speed and achieves the signal-to-noise ratio needed to detect individual neural events.
Additionally, the system’s modular design maintains the depth and resolution of traditional two-photon imaging while allowing flexible adjustments between speed and signal intensity.
Furthermore, OptoVolt, when combined with Bruker’s NeuraLight 3D Ultra spatial light modulator (SLM) for 3D optogenetic activation, allows researchers to assess input-output relationships in neural ensembles. The combination offers enhanced temporal and spatial resolution.
Bruker said the integration enables simultaneous optogenetic manipulation and voltage imaging.
The functionality also supports functional mapping of neural circuits, allowing researchers to visualise action potentials and sub-threshold membrane potentials across large neural networks. This bridges the gap between single-cell electrophysiology and wide-field calcium imaging, the scientific instruments maker said.
Bruker fluorescence microscopy business vice president and general manager Xiaomei Li said: “We are proud to introduce this significant advancement in neural circuit imaging capabilities, with its combined unparalleled imaging speed and signal-to-noise performance that allows millisecond neural event detection at single neuron resolution.
“OptoVolt demonstrates how we pay attention to our customers’ evolving research needs and work closely with them to drive innovation.
“With such direct collaboration, we are able to build upon the versatile Ultima 2Pplus platform as the ideal solution for all-optical neucience research.”
In a separate development, Bruker BioSpin, a firm under the Bruker group of companies, acquired the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) business of Massachusetts-based Bridge12.
In June, Bruker introduced its neofleX Imaging Profiler for spatial biology mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) applications.