This mulitfunction, fully-motorized inverted microscope can capture both 24bit color transmitted light images, and 16bit epi-fluorescence images (up to 4 channels).
The microscope includes a 5Mpix camera for color brightfield images (Leica DCF450), as well as in DIC (Nomarski), and Polarization [Note: crossed polars only, this is not a full-on POL microscope]. The sCMOS greyscale camera (Hamamatsu Flash 4.0) can capture 4Mpix images in 16bits at up to 30fps. The microscope has fluorescence cubes for dyes similar to DAPI, FITC/GFP, Rhodamine/TRITC/RFP, and CY5 (to check your dyes with our filters, see our page at FPbase). The microscope has 2.5x, 5x, 10x, 20x, 40x dry objectives and 40x, 63x, 100x oil objectives, as well as a 1.0/1.6x optivar for intermediate magnifications (the 2.5x and 100x oil objectives are available, but not routinely mounted on the microscope - please contact Doug Cromey if you need these objectives). The stage can accommodate microscope slides (both the standard 1x3 and the larger 2x3), multiwell plates*, and small culture dishes (35mm, 70mm)*. We have a BiopTechs Delta-T live cell culture dish controller to allow for long-term live cell imaging at 37 degrees C.
Capturing images is fairly easy and the Leica LAS-X software is able to allow users to stitch together multiple fields of view, creating a much larger image (color or greyscale cameras).
In addition to the Leica software we have added stereology software to this microscope. Stereology is a rigorous form of mathematical sampling for image analysis. Use of this software will require additional training.
* low mag images through plastic dish bottoms are possible, but higher magnification image capture or DIC/POL images require the use of a coverslip thickness (#1.5, 0.170mm) glass bottom on the dish.
