Today’s instruments and reagents for fluorescence microscopy carry with them the legacy of centuries. That’s easy to forget with the convenience of the many illuminating kits and gadgets on the market. Whether or not you can clearly recollect the history of fluorescence exploration, the leaps and bounds made in the life sciences are a fitting tribute to scientists whose incremental advances history will never forget.
These scientists include Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who won the very first Nobel Prize in physics, and Alexander Edmond Becquerel. Both made some of the earlier observations on fluorescence. Inheriting his father’s collection of fluorescent minerals and compounds and Roentgen’s findings, Antoine Henri Becquerel showed that both X-rays and fluorescence require a continual energy source to emit rays. Phosphorescence, on the other hand, could continue to emit rays for a length of time after exposure to an energy source.
Biologists have also made significant contributions that have led to the harnessing of fluorescence for research. In 1974, marine biologist Osamu Shimomura showed that the green glow of jellyfish is caused by a protein. Realizing its use in the study of proteins, Douglas Prasher cloned the gene for green fluorescent protein. Soon, biologists were able to express the gene in bacteria and other organisms. At the same time, chemists were acquiring the ability to create synthetic fluorescent compounds.
The discoveries have culminated in what you can now visualize through the help of advanced microscopes. Instead of merely peering at fixed tissues stained with dull colors, you can visually confirm the completion of a molecular assay or cells reacting to signaling molecules. With the brilliance of a palette of colors, your eyes can indulge in the art of imaging. Enter this term on Yahoo and its search engine will prove how pervasive fluorescence microscopy has become.
For even more information, try using the terms “confocal microscopy” in your internet search. Over the last two decades, confocal microscopes have become part of the regular inventory of lab equipment. Lasers, a key component of confocal microscopy, scan the object layer by layer, producing a three-dimensional image of the object. You can highlight the protein structures of the image with fluorescent dyes. With the potential of lasers to damage the object or to cause photobleaching, many researchers have opted for charge-coupled devices (CCD). Imagers with CCDs collect the light emitted from the object and convert the electron signals to voltage, which can then be read as an image. Cooled CCDs tend to be much more sensitive because cooling reduces the amount of noise that is detected.
Of course, neither confocal microscopes nor CCD imagers will look much like the traditional microscope. Instead, you’ll find that many are boxy units with a repository for a glass slide or a microplate. The form not only fits the fluorescence function, but also enables integration with an automated workflow, such as with an upstream robotic plate handler.
As evidenced below, the market offers microscopic devices of all shapes and sizes. Take a look—and connect with the forefathers of science.
Motic combines CCIS optics with innovative mechanical design, provides the unrivalled versatility, ergonomics and optical excellence and brings you a new series of inverted microscopes.
The AE 30/31 Series combines Motic's Colour Corrected Infinity Optical System (CCIS TM) with an innovative ergonomical design for rountine clinical, lab and research applications. The AE 30/31's standard EPI-Flourescence configuration features an expansive line of accessories and common filter-cube sets for the most-demanding applications.
Lumenera’s INFINITY line of megapixel cameras is ideal for a variety of applications where high resolution detail is required. The INFINITY camera’s compact and robust design, high-speed USB 2.0 interface, and intuitive image capture software with a TWAIN interface, were designed with microscopists and life science researchers in mind. With four series of cameras, CMOS, CCD, Cooled CCD and Pixel Shifting, and models ranging from 1.3 through 21 megapixel resolution, the INFINITY line is one of the most popular and complete product offerings available in the scientific market.
Revolution XD Microscopy System from Andor Technology offers a combination of up to 4 laser lines through its state-of the art Laser Combiner Unit, plus an emission wheel, this system gives you enhanced performance in applications such as multi-fluorophore imaging and FRET. At the core of Revolution systems is Andor iQ, a multi-dimensional imaging software which synchronizes iXonEM+ EMCCD cameras with the CSU 10 or 22 confocal spinning disk and other key hardware components such as Piezo Z100 z-stage and our Laser Combiner with AOTF for rapid laser line selection.
