What is a Fluorescence Microscope?
A fluorescence microscope is a microscope which is used to examine specimens with luminescent properties, or specimens which have been prepared with substances which create luminescent properties. In this type of microscopy, the specimen itself is the light source. A great deal of information can be collected with the use of a fluorescence microscope, and these microscopes can also be used to create stunning images in which detailed structures are clearly visible. These microscopes take advantage of the properties of certain chemical compounds. When excited by light of the proper wavelength, classically ultraviolet light, these chemicals will light up. If the luminescence is brief, it is known as fluorescence, while a more prolonged period of luminescence after excitation is called phosphorescence. In both cases, the color of the luminescence will vary, depending on the chemicals involved, as will the precise length of the period of luminescence. In a fluorescence microscope, light of
• A conventional microscope uses regular light to illuminate a specimen and create a magnified image from that light. A fluorescence microscope uses a special high intensity light to illuminate the specimen. The light excites fluorescent particles which in turn emit light of a longer wavelength. It is this secondary light being emitted that is collected and used to produce a magnified image of the specimen. The original high intensity light is not magnified and is filtered out of the final magnified image. • In a conventional microscope, the condenser lens focuses the light source and the objective lens magnifies the image. The fluorescence microscope objective lens not only magnifies the image, but first, it focuses the high intensity (excitation) light on the specimen. Both the excitation light and the emission light travel through the same objective. This is called epi-fluorescence. • The excitation light is filtered into a light of a wavelength that is desired to illuminate the spe
What makes this fluorescence microscope special? Well, to start with, a fluorescence microscope is based on the phenomenon that certain material emits energy detectable as visible light when irradiated with the light of the specific wavelength. This type of equipment is another type of a light microscope used to study properties of organic or inorganic substances using the phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence instead of, or in addition to reflection and absorption. A phenomenon called photoluminescence works through excitation of a molecule by ultraviolet or visible light photons, which is divided into two categories depending upon the electronic configuration of the excited state and the emission pathway, fluorescence and phosphorescence. Basically the task of the fluorescence microscope is to let excitation light radiate the specimen and then sort out the much weaker emitted light to make up the image. How we can get the sample excited? Fluorescence microscopes has a filter
Are you familiar with microscopes? Perhaps you know that through the light source you are able to see the images in the eyepiece, but do you know that nowadays a different light microscope is being used to further reflect images in an intricate manner? A fluorescence microscope is actually just like your regular standard light microscope but with added components and features that are integral in broadening its capabilities. If your traditional microscope uses light to illuminate the specimen and therefore reflect a magnified image, fluorescence microscope, on the other hand, uses more light. Intensity-wise fluorescence microscope implores more light to illuminate the specimen. As light excites fluorescence within the sample, light is then emitted with longer wavelength. Also, this optical instrument produce images based widely on second illumination source, which is the light originating from the fluorescent species rather than from the original light which excited the sample. Inverte
What type of fluorescence microscopy equipment do I need? Searching for the right fluorescent microscope for your application is probably a challenging task. The prices of fluorescent microscopy equipment is often well over $20,000. However, if one looks hard enough, they will find several much lower priced models on the market. A budget priced fluorescence microscope may not have all the bells and whistles as a brand name unit, but they often can fill the biologists or researchers needs, and at a price most any biology university research laboratory can afford. Lets begin with reviewing the part and function of the components that comprise the modern biological fluorescence microscope. First, we need to distinguish between a fluorescence and an epi-fluorescence microscope. The addition of the prefix epi refers to the type of microscopy equipment that has illumination from the top, also known as incident lighting. This is different from the transmitted light. Years ago, the typical flu
