| The Zeiss LSM 780 is a high-sensitivity laser scanning confocal microscope. Unlike most standard confocal systems this instrument comes equipped with a GaAsP photodetector. This detector in addition to boasting a quantum efficiency of 45% (in comparison to 25% for standard PMTs), it can also be used as a single-point detector or as a 32-channel detector array facilitating spectral measurements. It can also be switched into a single-photon counting mode providing great signal to noise for such techniques as FCS and RICS. |
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Common Applications
| Confocal: | Confocal imaging is a fluorescence microscopy technique that optically sections the speciment preventing out of light from reaching the detector. This yields clear high contrast images, and together with the ability to acquire images sequentially at multiple positions the entire sample can be reconstructed in 3D. |
| Spectral Unmixing: | Conventionally, imaging multiple fluorophores i the same sample requires careful selection to ensure crosstalk and/or bleedthrough do not lead to confusion between the signals. This can greatly restrict the number of probes available to you. Spectral unmixing is a technique that uses information about the spectral profile of each fluorophore to mathematically separate the overlapping signals. |
| Colocalisation: | Light microscopy lends itself very well to labelling multiple structures within a sample due to the ability to separate these spatially overlapping signals by the wavelength of light they emit. Colocalisation is the study of how the distribution of one probe relates to that of another within the same sample. |
Objective Lenses
| MAG | N.A | CORRECTIONS | IMMERSION | W.D | MISC. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10x | 0.45 | Plan-Apochromat | Air | 2mm | |
| 20x | 0.8 | Plan-Apochromat | Air | 0.5mm | |
| 40x | 1.2 | C-Apochromat | Water | 0.28mm | |
| 63x | 1.3 | Lcl Plan-Neofluar | Water or Glycerol | 0.17mm | |
| 100x | 1.4 | Plan-Apochromat | Oil | 0.17mm |
Light Sources
| Lasers | Wavelengths |
|---|---|
| Diode 405-30 | 405nm |
| Argon ion | 458nm, 488nm, 514nm |
| DPSS 561-10 | 561nm |
| HeNe 633 | 633nm |
Filters
Confocal
Tunnable wavelength selection for all 3 fluorescence/reflective PMTS between 400nm - 750nm.
Detectors
| Detector | Description |
|---|---|
| Blue Sensitive PMT | Hamamatsu PMT (30% Quantum efficiency @ 450nm) to cover where the photon efficiency of the GaAsP detector drops off towards the blue spectrum. |
| GaAsP photodetector | Gallium arsenide phosphide photodetector. 45% efficiency @ 550nm (25% for conventional PMTs). 32-channel spectral detector. Photon counting mode. |
| Cooled PMT | Cooled Hamamatsu PMT for imaging beyond 700nm |
