Jeol USA has revealed the Clairscope has the ability to examine biological samples with both electron microscopy and light microscopy and can switch between the two with a single mouse click.
This capability led to the editors of 'Microscopy Today' magazine to select the Clairscope for the MT-10 award.
The Clairscope is a correlative microscope that combines the power of electron microscopy with light microscopy.
Researchers can perform routine fluorescent imaging then examine the specimen at high resolution, high magnification without changing instruments or sample position.
The wide-field light microscope with emersion lens is co-axially aligned with the atmospheric scanning electron microscope (SEM) column.
This technique employs a unique specimen dish with an ultra-thin film window that allows electron beam transmission while the sample is open to atmospheric pressure.
Reagents, drugs and other substances can be added to the sample in order to perform experiments and observe reactions in both liquid and gas environments in real time.
Sample volumes can be as high as 10mL.
The sample holder is compatible with either cell cultures or a range of materials including liquids, gels, solids and so on.
Dynamic phenomena such as crystallisation, drying processes, and electrochemical reactions (sample holder with electrodes) can be followed in real time.
Biological materials can be imaged without the lengthy pre-treatment (dehydration, fixation, coating and so on) necessary in conventional SEMs.
