Jeol is to launch the first correlative microscope to enable concurrent light microscopy and atmospheric scanning electron microscopy (ASEM) for experimentation on samples in their native state.
The Jeol Clairscope will make its debut in the US at Microscopy and Microanalysis (M and M) in Portland, Oregon, on 2-5 August 2010, just prior to installation at Northwestern University's Biological Imaging Facility, where it will be used for demonstrations and applications development.
With just one mouse click, it switches from the optical microscope mode to the ASEM mode - SEM imaging in an open environment will provide a lot of new opportunities to the scientific community,' said Donna Guarrera, assistant director of the Scanning Microscopy Division of Jeol.
Guarrera will be giving one-on-one demonstrations of the Clairscope at the M and M 2010 trade show, during which a Clairscope Workshop will be held.
Jeol has selected Northwestern University's Biological Imaging Facility (BIF) as one of two sites in where the Clairscope will be used for applications development.
The Jeol Clairscope will also be installed at the University of York's Department of Biology, where scientists will employ the correlative techniques of fluorescence microscopy and atmospheric SEM in their development of novel probes for biological exploration.
Using the Clairscope, life-science researchers can harness the imaging capability of the SEM to observe biological processes such as platelet generation, distribution of sugar chains and microbe growth.
Materials scientists will be able to observe and record crystallisation, electrochemical reactions, emulsion technology, self assemblies and dendrite growth as they occur.
The Clairscope makes it possible for biologists to perform routine fluorescent imaging then examine the specimen at high resolution and high magnification, without changing instruments or sample position.
The wide-field light microscope with emersion lens is coaxially aligned with the A-SEM column.
The specimen dish features an ultra-thin SiN film window that allows electron-beam transmission while the sample is open to atmospheric pressure.
This means that scientists can add reagents, drugs and other substances to the sample, in order to perform experiments and observe reactions in liquid and gas environments.
