'Groundbreaking' live cell imaging system is said to be about 20 times faster than any other confocal system, collecting up to 120 images per second
Carl Zeiss has launched three entirely new fluorescence microscope systems.
Delivering faster, brighter, more evenly illuminated and better contrasted images than ever before, the FluoresScience family has radically reshaped the boundaries of fluorescence microscopy, says the company.
The FluoresScience family consists of three stereo microscopes, four models based on the modular Axio Imager platform and the revolutionary LSM 5 Live laser scanning microscope.
This 'groundbreaking' live cell imaging system is said to be about 20 times faster than any other confocal system, collecting up to 120 images per second. "All three new instruments reflect the vastly increased importance of fluorescence microscopy in the life sciences and biomedical research," says Aubrey Lambert, Carl Zeiss UK. "Microscopic examinations of living cells and organisms are playing an increasingly major role in elucidating the complex intracellular interactions and pathways that control every cellular process".
Axio Imager, Stereo and LSM 5 Live span almost the entire microscope spectrum, from stereo and traditional light microscopy to laser scanning confocal microscopy.
Each builds on the company's extensive know-how and long-standing experience to set new standards for its class. Based on the award-winning LSM 5 microscope, the LSM 5 Live's combination of high speed, image quality and sensitivity will provide exclusive insights into the cell's highly transient and dynamic events.
It is suited to live cell imaging studies of the movement of individual intracellular molecules or measuring the dynamics of the cytoskeleton during such processes as cell adhesion, cell motility and cell signalling.
The Axio Imager is an innovative modular system for digital fluorescence microscopy, featuring advanced flexibility and application versatility.
The Intelligent Stand incorporates complex software elements that automatically recognise components as they are added, such as filter wheels and objectives.
The new IC2S objectives (infinity contrast and colour corrected system) optimise image quality and maximise contrast in all techniques and the isolated Imaging Cell gives vibration-free observation and unparalleled precision at all times, it is claimed.
To meet the increasing challenges posed by research applications, including fluorescence, special fluorescence filters offer significantly improved signal-to-noise ratios, reducing exposure and image acquisition times by up to 50% for superior 3D imaging. Stereo builds on Carl Zeiss's reputation as the inventor of stereomicroscopy.
A new, patented optical design provides 20% more image information, giving users optimum resolution with extremely bright fluorescence and unparalleled, high-contrast 3D images.
The level of image quality reaches the point previously only possible with traditional light microscopes.
This is especially important in cellular, molecular and developmental biology and in forensic investigations, where the new NeoLumar S objectives now permit quick and easy detection of human cell material and tiny amounts of secretion residue in forensic material, which can then be used for DNA analyses.
