Fluorescent Microscope

Common Concerns In Using Fluorescent Microscopes

fluorescentmicroscope — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:20:58 +0000

Fluorescent microscope users have common concerns regarding the uses, methodologies, and technologies that they have tried on their samples over time. Common concerns include slide sample preparations, prevention of cross-talk or bleed-through, auto-fluorescence, and maximizing the full potential of the fluorescent microscope in acquiring optimum, high-resolution images. (more…)

Improved Fluorescent Microscopes

fluorescentmicroscope — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:20:03 +0000

In a study conducted by two separate teams of researchers, an improved fluorescent microscope allows the researchers to see individual protein molecules on the surface of a living cell. Acquisition of fluorescence images was made by the two teams by dipping a needle-like tip into the focus of the laser used to create the fluorescence. The first team made improvements on how the tip was positioned, while the other team made modifications before letting the light hit the tip. They routed the laser light through a confined aperture. (more…)

Fluorescent Microscopes for Biomedical Research

fluorescentmicroscope — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:19:20 +0000

To magnify and observe things that are too small for the naked eye to see, scientists use the microscope. There is a wide range of microscopes that exist in biology and medicine that are specific to produce images of individual molecules and also the entire living organisms. The Fluorescent microscope provides students, teachers, scientists, and researchers the means to observe and evaluate the intracellular distribution of specific molecules. A biological tissue is composed of cells. The cells are well organized and compartmentalized. An entire cell is very small measuring less than 1/10th the diameter of a human hair. Without the aid of fluorescent microscopes, it is impossible to observe these cell structures. A lot can be studied about the role of molecules from their cellular location, and from their association with other molecules with known functions. A fluorescent microscope could show a fluorescence image of a cell that has been marked with a probe that fluoresces different colors for different parts. (more…)

Sample Processing

fluorescentmicroscope — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:18:38 +0000

Using a fluorescent microscope is a challenging yet rewarding experience. Knowledge on the proper processing of the samples would greatly help in obtaining optimum results. Fixation, permeabilization and blocking, staining, and mounting are the four general steps when processing a sample using a fluorescent microscope. (more…)

Fluorescent Microscopes: Light Sources

fluorescentmicroscope — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:17:54 +0000

Powerful compact light sources, such as high-energy short arc-discharge lamps, are necessary in order to produce enough excitation light intensity to produce visible emission in fluorescent microscopes. Mercury burners (50 to 200 Watts) and the Xenon burners (75 to 150 Watts) are the usual lamps for fluorescent microscopes. These light sources are usually powered externally by a direct current supply which furnishes enough start-up power to incite the burner through ionization of the gaseous vapor and to keep it burning with minimum flicker. (more…)

The Fluorescent Microscope

fluorescentmicroscope — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:14:25 +0000

A Fluorescent microscope is a tool for the examination and study of microscopic specimens that absorb light and emit fluorescence. To obtain specific and meaningful fluorescence it is essential to stain the specimens with fluorescing dyes called fluorophores or fluorochromes. Using the fluorescent microscope is a highly sensitive method because very small quantities of a fluorophore can often be pictured with good microscopic contrast. Images that are brightly fluoresced can be examined against a dark background in most applications. For optimum fluorescence, the user of the fluorescent microscope must keep in mind some factors like the fact that individual fluorophores have different absorption and emission spectra, and also different quantum efficiency, which is the ratio between the energy absorbed and the energy emitted. In using fluorescent microscope, it is essential to illuminate the specimen with the light of a specific wavelength. This light is then absorbed and then emitted by the fluorophores in longer wavelengths of light that is of a separate color than the absorbed light. Through the use of an emission filter, the illumination light is separated from the much weaker emitted fluorescence. The usual components of a fluorescent microscope are the light source, which can either be Xenon or Mercury arc-discharge lamp, the excitation filter, the dichroic mirror, and the emission filter. The filters and the dichroic are chosen to match the spectral excitation and emission characteristics of the fluorophore used to label the specimen. (more…)