Microscopy Flashcards
How is a wet mount prepared?
-place a drop of water on a slide -place the specimen on top -carefully tilt and lower a coverslip ensuring no air bubbles are trapped
How can stain be added to a wet mount?
-a drop of stain is placed next to one edge of the cover slip -put a bit of paper towel on the opposite side, this will draw the stain across the specimen
Which two types of microscope require stains to be used?
Light microscopes and TEMs
i) What is used to stain nucleic acids? ii) What colour are they stained?
i) Methylene blue ii) blue
Name two common light microscope stains
Methylene blue and Eosin
What does eosin stain?
Eosin stains the cytoplasm pink
i) What does Haemotoxylin stain? ii) What colour does it go?
i) Nuclei ii) Blue-purple or black
What is toulidine used to stain?
Phloem and xylem, phloem is stained red and xylem is stained green-blue
What is used as a stain for TEM images?
Heavy metals e.g lead
How do heavy metals act as stains for electron microscopes?
the metal ions scatter the electrons which creates contrast
Name 4 different types of microscope
-light microscope -laser scanning confocal microscope -transmission electron microscope -scanning electron microscope
What is the maximum magnification of a light microscope?
x1500
What is the resolution of a light microscope?
200nm (0.2 micrometres)
What is the maximum magnification of a laser scanning confocal microscope?
x1500
What is the resolution of a laser scanning confocal microscope?
200nm (0.2 micrometres)
What are laser scanning confocal microscopes used for?
Looking at thick specimens at different depths