Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility

What Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility does

The Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility (NIEF) is a core research facility housed within the University of Puerto Rico's Molecular Sciences Research Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It provides shared access to advanced confocal laser scanning microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, spinning disc super-resolution imaging (Nikon NSPARK and CSU-W1 SoRa platforms achieving 120nm XY resolution), total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, and patch clamp electrophysiology rigs including planar lipid bilayer workstations and EMG stations. NIEF holds the Nikon Center of Excellence designation, an award granted to a limited number of facilities worldwide, providing preferred access to Nikon's microscopy portfolio. Its core differentiation is the ability to couple confocal imaging with electrophysiology for simultaneous fluorescence and bioelectrical signal acquisition from cells, tissues, and animal models.

NIEF operates a fee-for-service usage-based model in which academic and industry researchers reserve instruments through online booking systems. Pricing is tiered by instrument type and user affiliation: standard confocal and two-photon imaging runs $75/hr for UPR users and $100/hr for non-UPR users; super-resolution/TIRF is priced at $125/hr (UPR) and $200/hr (non-UPR); electrophysiology rigs and spinning disc sessions are billed per 6-hour block; staff-assisted training and data acquisition packages range from $75 to $300 per session. Service revenue is supplemented by NIH-NIGMS grants (P30GM149367 and P20GM103642) that sustain core operations, equipment maintenance, and staff support.

The facility serves primarily academic researchers (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty) from UPR and external institutions, plus industry researchers from biotech and pharmaceutical companies in Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Marketing and customer acquisition occur through university course integration, scientific outreach events (Puerto Rico Bioscience Week, MSRC Open House), the facility website, and collaborative networks. The entity is classified as a government/state institution under UPR's institutional governance rather than a privately held commercial enterprise, with 1-10 employees and no public revenue disclosure.

Name

Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility

Legal name

Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility

Website

https://nief-upr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NIEF is a University of Puerto Rico core research facility in San Juan offering confocal, multiphoton, and super-resolution microscopy plus patch clamp electrophysiology services to academic and industry researchers across Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the Caribbean on a fee-for-service basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Imaging and Electrophysiology Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAGAJAB

Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Life Science Software & Informatics (LIMS/ELN/Bioinformatics)

SECONDARYHLAFAKAK

Neurodiagnostic Centers (EEG/EMG/NCS)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Healthcare Providers & Systems/Diagnostic & Imaging Centers

Keywords

• Confocal microscopy services
• Electrophysiology research
• Multiphoton imaging
• Super resolution microscopy
• Neuroscience research services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Juan

HQ country

Puerto Rico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Microscopy and Electrophysiology Services: Fee-for-service model providing access to advanced microscopy and electrophysiology equipment. Pricing varies by instrument type, user affiliation (UPR vs non-UPR), and session duration (hourly or per 6-8 hour block).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility (NIEF) is a core research facility providing fee-for-service access to advanced confocal and multiphoton microscopy, super-resolution and TIRF imaging, patch clamp electrophysiology, and combined imaging-electrophysiology systems. The facility also delivers hands-on training programs in microscopy and electrophysiology techniques to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. As a Nikon Center of Excellence, NIEF serves academic researchers and industry clients in Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Product overview

The Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility (NIEF) is a core research facility offering microscopy and electrophysiology services to academia and industry. The facility provides access to advanced imaging equipment including confocal laser scanning microscopes (Nikon Eclipse Ti-E), multiphoton microscopes (Nikon Eclipse FN1), spinning disc super-resolution systems, TIRF microscopy, and AX confocal microscopes with NSPARC. Electrophysiology services include patch clamp rigs for brain slices, isolated cells, and tissue, sharp electrode intracellular recording rigs, two-electrode voltage clamp rigs for frog oocytes, planar lipid bilayer workstations, and EMG stations. The facility also offers training programs for researchers. As a Nikon Center of Excellence, NIEF specializes in fluorescence-based imaging and bioelectrical signal recording for neuroscience, cell biology, and nanomedicine research applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Confocal and Multiphoton Microscopy Services Fee-for-service access to confocal laser scanning microscopy and two-photon microscopy systems for fluorescence-based imaging of cellular structures and molecular events, with high temporal and spatial resolution including 3D reconstruction and deep tissue penetration for whole brain and thick tissue samples.
• Super Resolution and TIRF Microscopy Services Access to CSU-W1 SoRa Live Super Resolution Spinning Disk Confocal with XY resolution to 120nm and Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy for membrane and single-molecule imaging with improved signal-to-noise ratio.
• Patch Clamp Electrophysiology Services Electrophysiology recordings measuring membrane action potentials, ion channel currents, and single ion channel activity from isolated cells, cellular tissues, and animal models, including sharp electrode intracellular recording, two-electrode voltage clamp rigs for frog oocytes, planar lipid bilayer workstations, and EMG stations.
• Combined Imaging and Electrophysiology Services Simultaneous acquisition of fluorescence images and bioelectrical signals by coupling confocal microscopy with patch-clamp electrophysiology for correlated functional and structural analysis of biological cells and tissues.
• Microscopy and Electrophysiology Training Programs Hands-on training programs for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, young investigators, and faculty on microscopy and electrophysiology techniques, including technical service training sessions at $100/4 hrs (UPR) and $200/8 hrs (UPR) for electrophysiology.
• Staff-Assisted Data Acquisition Services Staff-operated microscopy and electrophysiology data acquisition services for users requiring technical assistance, priced at $75/4 hrs for UPR users and $150/4 hrs for non-UPR users.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Nikon InstrumentscoreTechnology or IntegrationNIEF is designated as a Nikon Center of Excellence, providing access to state-of-the-art Nikon microscopy equipment including confocal laser scanning systems, multiphoton microscopes, and super-resolution imaging technology.
• UPR Institute of NeurobiologymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative relationship with additional Nikon Eclipse Ti-E inverted fluorescence microscope location at the Institute of Neurobiology, expanding facility capabilities and access.
• University of Puerto Rico (UPR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIEF operates as a core research facility under UPR's institutional infrastructure, providing services to UPR researchers at preferential rates.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Research institute operating advanced imaging and electrophysiology cores for neuroscience and cell biology — directly comparable to NIEF's combined imaging-electrophysiology research support model in a research-institute setting.
• Janelia Research Campus (HHMI): Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus operates advanced light and electron microscopy plus electrophysiology cores for neuroscience researchers worldwide — directly comparable to NIEF's combined imaging-electrophysiology research support mission.
• Allen Institute for Brain Science: Non-profit neuroscience research institute running large-scale imaging and physiology pipelines (including patch-seq and high-resolution microscopy) that mirror NIEF's coupled fluorescence-imaging and electrophysiology service offering.

Broad incumbents

• Eurofins Scientific: Global laboratory services group providing contract research and analytical testing across life sciences — a much larger incumbent operating in adjacent commercial research services versus NIEF's specialized academic core.
• Charles River Laboratories: Global CRO offering a broad portfolio of life science research services including imaging and preclinical support — overlaps with NIEF's fee-for-service research support model but at vastly larger scale and scope.

Others

• Leica Microsystems (Danaher): Manufacturer of confocal, multiphoton, and super-resolution microscopy systems that compete with NIEF's equipment stack and define the technology capabilities NIEF's services are built around.
• Nikon Instruments Inc. Core technology partner of NIEF under the Nikon Center of Excellence designation; supplies NIEF's confocal, multiphoton, NSPARC and SoRa platforms, and an adjacent ecosystem of similar Nikon-aligned imaging cores globally.
• Carl Zeiss AG (ZEISS Research Microscopy): Major manufacturer of confocal and super-resolution microscopes that compete with NIEF's Nikon instrumentation; provides the supplier-side technology stack underpinning the imaging services NIEF delivers.
• Bruker Corporation: Manufacturer of advanced microscopy and biophysical instrumentation (including AFM and super-resolution systems) used in life science research cores comparable to NIEF's instrumentation stack.

Emerging players

• Bio-Techne: Life science research tools and services company providing reagents, assays, and analytical instruments used in cell biology and neuroscience workflows comparable to those NIEF supports through imaging and electrophysiology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/neuroimaging-and-electrophysiology-facility

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility