Alligator Luminescence System

Product Description

Light tight enclosure for sensitive optical recordings.

The Cairn Alligator system allows bioluminescence measurements to be simultaneously recorded from up to six multi-well plates over several days. Based on the New Brunswick Galaxy 170R, we make substantial modifications to convert the standard incubator into a high throughput luminometer. In addition to the precise temperature, CO₂ control is provided as standard – we adapt the chamber for light-tightness and high NA imaging using a deep-cooled, back-thinned or Electron Multiplied CCD. The system is supplied fully integrated into various software packages for multi-region timelapse analysis.

This fantastic new system offers the capacity for high-throughput collection over time scales that vary from seconds to weeks, without sacrificing the quality of the data collected. The flexible and sensitive environmental control gives us the ability to do experiments which would simply not be possible otherwise. 

Dr. John S. O’Neill, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge

A jove video showing how the ALLIGATOR can be used in the context of circadian rhythms research (thanks to John O’Neill’s lab, Cambridge)

 

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Additional information

Applications	• Circadian rhythm measurements – seconds to weeks • Calcium recordings (Aequorin) • Plant sciences
Key Benefits	• High throughput, up to six 384 well plates imaged simultaneously • Precise environmental control • LED illumination for circadian rhythm stimulation • High aperture lens with demisting optics • Light-tight, does not require a dark room • Software control of all environmental conditions and illumination
Specification	The Alligator system includes the following modifications: • Secondary shroud for complete light tightness • F/0.95 lens with anti-mist heater • Anti-reflective stainless steel racks • Multi well plate alignment • External focus adjustment • Photon trap of CO2 sensor • Illumination ring • Supported in various software packages • Custom scripting for multi-well recordings and data export • Integrated deep-cooled camera from Hamamatsu, Andor or Teledyne

Additional information

2021

• Distinct circadian mechanisms govern cardiac rhythms and susceptibility to arrhythmia

2019

• Insulin/IGF-1 Drives PERIOD Synthesis to Entrain Circadian Rhythms with Feeding Time – Read here

Pre 2019

1) Circadian actin dynamics drive rhythmic fibroblast mobilization during wound healing – Read Here
2) Flexible Measurement of Bioluminescent Reporters Using an Automated Longitudinal Luciferase Imaging Gas- and Temperature-optimized Recorder (ALLIGATOR) – Read Here
3) The Pentose Phosphate Pathway Regulates the Circadian Clock – Read Here
4) In-depth Characterization of Firefly Luciferase as a Reporter of Circadian Gene Expression in Mammalian Cells – Read Here