May. 13, 2013

Unmask the Hidden without Probes: CARS

Fluorescence microscopy assumed a pivotal role in cell biology once it was possible to stain cell components selectively by fluorescing dyes. One of the first explorers of targeted stainings, Paul Ehrlich, had the idea that something that stains specifically should also kill specifically - which was associated with the term "magic bullet", the essential idea of chemotherapy. His group discovered Salvarsan, a tailored drug against syphilis - though not specific enough not to cause substantial side effects. moreMay. 06, 2013

2013 FEI Image Contest

FEI invites owners and users to submit their best images from an FEI instrument. We are continuing our partnership with National Geographic on the upcoming film "Mysteries of the Unseen World". All images submitted will be considered for inclusion in the film's promotional materials.
moreMar. 25, 2013

Nano-FTIR - The Chemical Nanoscope

We show identification of chemical compounds and chemical maps at 20 nm resolution, enabled by a novel combination of infrared spectroscopy and near-field microscopy. Nano-FTIR returns the surface topography and simultaneously the local mid-infrared spectrum of the tiny volume (20 nm3) just below the probing tip thus allowing correlative topography/hyperspectral infrared images. In the case of molecular substances, comparison with common infrared databases enables local chemical recognition.
moreMar. 18, 2013

Light Sheet Ultramicroscopy

We developed a new ultramicroscopy design equipped with modified optics to achieve 3D-vizualizations of specimens with μm-resolution. The optical unit consists of elements with complex surface structures to create an ultra-thin light sheet. Diffraction and other unwanted optical effects are minimized, while the laser energy is used more efficiently. This enables us to obtain marked enhancements in resolving fine details of specimens (e.g. fruit-flies, entire mouse brains, and mouse hippocampi).
moreFeb. 27, 2013

Focus On Microscopy 2013

The next Focus on Microscopy conference (FOM2013) will take place in Maastricht, the Netherlands in the week before Easter from Sunday March 24 to Wednesday March 27, 2013. Focus on Microscopy 2013 is the continuation of a yearly interdisciplinary conference series running now for well over two decades. It presents the latest innovations and new trends in multi-dimensional light microscopy and image processing together with their application in biology, medicine and material sciences.
moreJan. 21, 2013

Pixel Size & Sensitivity

The number of pixels in image sensors is of central importance for the image quality. There is a general tendency towards higher resolutions, because they are associated with higher information content. Higher resolutions mean smaller pixels. The sensitivity of the pixels is another important feature (characteristic) of an image sensor. Larger pixel image sensors are said to be more sensitive than smaller pixel sensors. moreOct. 29, 2012

Nanolenses from Metallic Particles and DNA

Conventional lenses can only focus light to a volume on the femtoliter (10-15) range or in other words to dimensions of 1 µm3. This constrain arises from an effect called diffraction, inherent to all conventional lenses, and represents an obstacle for the development of nanotechnology applications. The interdisciplinary group of scientists of Prof. Dr. Philip Tinnefeld have overcome this problem by an elegant self-assembly technique that produces millions of nanolenses on the basis of metallic nanoparticles in combination with DNA structures. These nanolenses enable ~100fold more sensitive detection of even single molecules than previous approaches. The original publication is presented in Science.
moreOct. 29, 2012

Sparsity-Mediated Microscopy

We present the experimental reconstruction of sub-wavelength features from the far-field of sparse optical objects. We show that it is sufficient to know that the object is sparse, and only that, and recover 100 nm features with the resolution of 30 nm, for an illuminating wavelength of l = 532 nm. Our technique works in real-time, requires no scanning, and can be implemented in all existing microscopes - ­optical and non-optical.
moreOct. 08, 2012

Online Life Science Pages for Optical Components

Edmund Optics (EO) has launched online Life Science pages which offer product recommendations and technical resources for life sciences application.

Select from Bioimaging and Microscopy, Diagnostics and Genomics, Spectroscopy, Ophthalmology, or Medical Lasers applications to find recommended products and technical resources. Each area includes definitions, application notes, videos, success stories, and stock components as well as a link to EO's technical support to help customers select the right products based on their specific technical requirements. moreSep. 10, 2012

Handbook of Nanoscopy

This completely revised successor to the Handbook of Microscopy supplies in-depth coverage of all imaging technologies from the optical to the electron and scanning techniques. Adopting a twofold approach, the book firstly presents the various technologies as such, before going on to cover the materials class by class, analyzing how the different imaging methods can be successfully applied.
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