Module 02: Microscopy Flashcards
What are the parts of a light microscope?
(1) Bright field microscopes
(2) Darkfield microscopes
(3) Phase-contrast microscopes
(4) Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopes (also known as Nomarski optics)
(5) Fluorescence microscopes
(6) Confocal scanning laser microscopes
(7) Two-photon microscopes
This type of microscope uses electron beams that pass through a specimen to visualize small images; useful to observe small, thin specimens such as tissue sections and subcellular structures.
Transmission Electron Microscope
This type of microscope uses electron beams to visualize surfaces; useful to observe three-dimensional surface details of specimens.
Scanning Electron Microscope
This type of microscope uses electron beams focused with magnets to produce an image.
Electron Microscope
What is the magnification of an electron microscope?
20-100,000x or more
This type of light microscope is commonly used in wide variety of laboratory applications as the standard microscope; it produces an image on a bright background.
Brightfiled Microscope
This type of light microscope increases contrast without staining by producing a bright image on a darker background, especially useful for viewing live specimens.
Darkfield Microscope
This type of light microscope uses refraction and interference caused by structures in the specimen to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining, making it useful for viewing live specimens and structures such as endospores.
Phase Contrast Microscope
This type of light microscope uses fluorescent stains to produce an image; can be used to identify pathogens, to find particular species, to distinguish living form dead cells, or to find locations of particular molecules within a cell.
Fluorescence Microscope (or Immunofluorescence)
This type of light microscope uses a laser to scan multiple z-planes successively, producing numerous 2-dimensional, high-resolution images at various depths that can be constructed into a three-dimensional image by a computer, making this useful for examining thick specimens.
Confocal Microscope
This type of light microscope uses a scanning technique, fluorochromes and long-wavelength light (such as infrared) to penetrate deep into thick specimens such as biofilms
Two-photon microscope
This uses visible or ultraviolet light to produce an image.
Light Microscope.
This microscope uses very short probes that are passed over the surface of a specimen and interact with it directly
Scanning Probe Microscope
What is the calculated magnification of scanning probe microscopes?
100-100,000,000x or more
This scanning probe microscope uses a probe passed horizontally at a constant distance just above the specimen while the intensity of the current is measured, can map the structure of surfaces at the atomic level; works best on conducting materials but can also be used to examine organic materials such as DNA, if fixed on a surface.
Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM)
This scanning probe microscope is used in several ways including a laser focused on a cantilever to measure the bending of the tip or a probe passed above the specimen while the height needed to maintain a constant current is measured; useful to observe specimens at the atomic level and can be more easily used with nonconducting samples.
Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
What are the components of a Brightfiled Microscope?
(1) Oculars (10X)
(2) Body Tube
(3) Arm
(4) Coarse Adjustment Knob
(5) Fine Adjustment Knob
(6) Power Cord
(7) Base
(8) Power Switch/Light Adjustment Knob
(9) Mechanical Stage Knobs
(10) Light Source or illuminator
(11) Condenser with Iris Diaphragm
(12) Mechanical Stage
(13) Objectives Lenses:
(a) Scanning Power (red 4X)
(b) Low Power (yellow 10X)
(c) High Power (blue 40X)
(d) Oil Immersion (white 100x; not always present)
(14) Nosepiece
(15) rheostat
This part of a Brightfiled Microscope is used to hold multiple objective lenses.
Revolving Nosepiece
This part of a Brightfiled Microscope is used to move the slide.
X-Y mechanical stage knobs
This part of a Brightfiled Microscope is used to adjust the light.
Rheostat
This part of a Brightfiled Microscope is used to hold the specimen.
Stage
This microscope renders a darker image on a lighter background, producing a clear image of these Bacillus anthracis cells in cerebrospinal fluid (the rod-shaped bacterial cells are surrounded by larger white blood cells)
Brightfield Microscope
This microscope increases contrast, rendering a brighter image on a darker background, as demonstrated by this image of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease.
Darkfield Microscope
This is the product of the ocular magnification times the objective magnification:
Total Magnification
How do you solve for the total magnification?
Total Magnification = ocular magnification × objective magnification
For example, if a 40× objective lens is selected and the ocular lens is 10×, the total magnification would be (40×)(10×)=400×
These objective lenses are used to improve resolution.
Oil Immersion objective lenses
Why are Oil Immersion objective lenses used to improve the resolution of the specimen?
Because immersion oil and glass have very similar refractive indices, there is a minimal amount of refraction before the light reaches the lens. Without immersion oil, light scatters as it passes through the air above the slide, degrading the resolution of the image.
This microscope allows us to view living, unstained samples of the spirochete Treponema pallidum.
Darkfield Microscope
This microscope is comparable to the darkfield microscope because spirochetes appear bright against a dark
background.
Photographic negative Microscope
This is inserted into a brightfield microscope is used to produce a darkfield image.
Opaque Light stop
Why is the Opaque Light stop inserted in a light microscope?
The light stop blocks light traveling directly from the illuminator to the objective lens, allowing only light reflected or refracted off the specimen to reach the eye.