What is the difference between fluorescence microscopy and confocal laser microscopy?
The principles are different
1. Fluorescence microscope: It uses ultraviolet light as the light source to illuminate the object being inspected to make it emit fluorescence, and then observe the shape and location of the object under the microscope.
2. Laser confocal microscope: A laser scanning device is installed on the basis of fluorescence microscope imaging, and ultraviolet light or visible light is used to excite fluorescent probes.
Different characteristics
1. Fluorescence microscope: used to study the absorption and transportation of intracellular substances, the distribution and positioning of chemical substances, etc. Some substances in cells, such as chlorophyll, can fluoresce after being irradiated by ultraviolet rays; other substances, although they cannot fluoresce themselves, can fluoresce after being irradiated with ultraviolet rays if dyed with fluorescent dyes or fluorescent antibodies.
2. Laser confocal microscopy: Use computers to perform image processing to obtain fluorescence images of the fine structures inside cells or tissues, and observe physiological signals such as Ca2+, pH value, membrane potential, and changes in cell morphology at the subcellular level. .
Different uses
1. Fluorescence microscope: Fluorescence microscope is the basic tool of immunofluorescence cytochemistry. It is composed of main components such as light source, filter plate system and optical system. It uses light of a certain wavelength to excite the specimen to emit fluorescence, and then magnifies the fluorescence image of the specimen through the objective lens and eyepiece system.
2. Laser confocal microscopy: Laser scanning confocal microscopy technology has been used to study cell morphological positioning, three-dimensional structure reorganization, dynamic change processes, etc., and provides practical research methods such as quantitative fluorescence measurement and quantitative image analysis, combined with other related biotechnologies. , widely used in the fields of molecular cell biology such as morphology, physiology, immunology, and genetics.
