What is the optical path system of a fluorescence microscope?
Under a microscope, due to the optical properties of certain substances, ordinary upright microscopes cannot clearly see their internal structure, and they have another characteristic, such as some substances in cells, such as chlorophyll, which can emit fluorescence after being exposed to ultraviolet radiation; Some substances themselves may not emit fluorescence, but if stained with fluorescent dyes or fluorescent antibodies, they can also emit fluorescence under ultraviolet radiation. By utilizing the optical properties of these substances, professional microscopic display equipment, namely fluorescence microscopy, has been developed. Fluorescence microscopy is a tool for qualitative and quantitative research on such substances. The accurate definition of a fluorescence microscope refers to a microscope that selects a certain wavelength of excitation light emitted by a high-pressure mercury lamp or similar light source, excites certain substances labeled with fluorescent dyes in cells to emit fluorescence, and observes the distribution status of a specific component in cells. Semi quantitative measurements can also be performed. Fluorescence microscopy is one of the tools used for qualitative and quantitative research on such substances.
The adjustment of the microscope lighting system is to ensure that the microscope's field of view can be uniformly and fully illuminated. When the microscope is first installed and debugged, the lighting system must be adjusted properly. This is an important means and basic requirement for correctly using the microscope and obtaining correct and reliable results. In addition, mastering the adjustment of the lighting path system correctly is a necessary step after replacing the light source bulb during the use of the microscope, and it is also a necessary means to periodically test the performance of the microscope during daily use. There are the following differences between fluorescence microscopy and ordinary microscopy:
1. The lighting method is usually a drop type, where the light source is projected onto the sample through the objective lens;
2. The light source is ultraviolet light, with a shorter wavelength and higher resolution than ordinary microscopes;
3. There are two special filters, the one in front of the light source is used to filter out visible light, and the one between the eyepiece and objective is used to filter out ultraviolet rays to protect the human eye.
Fluorescence microscopy is also a type of optical microscope, with the main difference being the different excitation wavelengths between the two. This determines the differences in structure and usage between fluorescence microscopy and ordinary optical microscopy.
Fluorescence microscopy is a fundamental tool for immunofluorescence cytochemistry. It is composed of main components such as light source, filter plate system, and optical system. It is to use a certain wavelength of light to excite the specimen and emit fluorescence, and to observe the fluorescence image of the specimen through an objective and eyepiece system amplification. It is widely used in the fields of biology and medical research.
