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The fluorescence microscope

First fluorescence microscope, First epifluorescence microscope, The dichroic mirror

Nature Cell Biology volume 11, pages S8–S9 (2009)Cite this article

Heimstädt noted two main challenges: one was to concentrate enough UV light on the sample to make it fluoresce; the other was to capture the emitted fluorescent light free of any noise. To address the former, he used cuvettes constructed by Hans Moritz Lehmann to eliminate all but the UV light from the white light generated by an arc lamp; to address the latter, he employed darkfield illumination that ensured no excitation light would enter the objective lens and provided high contrast for the fluorescence signal.

If and to what degree fluorescence microscopy will widen the possibilities of microscopic imaging only the future will show. Oskar Heimstädt

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References

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  1. Senior Editor, Nature Methods,

    Nicole Rusk

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  1. Nicole Rusk
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Rusk, N. The fluorescence microscope. Nat Cell Biol 11 (Suppl 1), S8–S9 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1941

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