28.02.2013 Views

The Principles of Clinical Cytogenetics - Extra Materials - Springer

The Principles of Clinical Cytogenetics - Extra Materials - Springer

The Principles of Clinical Cytogenetics - Extra Materials - Springer

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

90 Christopher McAleer<br />

Fig. 3. Schematic <strong>of</strong> the basic components <strong>of</strong> a fluorescence microscope: (a) light source, (b) excitation<br />

filter, (c) dichroic mirror, and (d) emission or barrier filter.<br />

Single-emission filters <strong>of</strong>fer several advantages over dual- or triple-emission filters, including<br />

the use <strong>of</strong> peak excitation wavelengths for particular fluorochromes, resulting in stronger<br />

emission intensities. In addition, single-emission filters usually allow a wider band <strong>of</strong> wavelengths<br />

to emit to the eyes or camera, thus increasing the overall intensity <strong>of</strong> the fluorescent<br />

image. Finally, viewing only one fluorochrome at a time allows for the visualization <strong>of</strong> verylow-intensity<br />

fluorescence, without the signal becoming lost in the fluorescence <strong>of</strong> other fluorochromes.<br />

<strong>The</strong> disadvantage <strong>of</strong> single-emission filters is that the fluorescence filters must be<br />

frequently changed to allow all fluorochromes to be seen when multiple fluorochromes are used<br />

simultaneously. Scanning and analysis can be less tedious when dual- or triple-emission filters<br />

are used in such situations.<br />

Fluorescence Objective Lenses<br />

Fluorescence objective lenses are made <strong>of</strong> fluorite or quartz, not glass. This extends the useful<br />

range <strong>of</strong> the objective into the UV spectrum (a requirement for DAPI microscopy), as UV wavelengths<br />

are absorbed by glass.<br />

As previously mentioned, many fluorescence lenses are equipped with a correction collar<br />

designed to allow use <strong>of</strong> the objective with materials with a range <strong>of</strong> refractive properties and<br />

that must be adjusted to the thickness <strong>of</strong> the plating material. Other lenses are equipped with<br />

an aperture diaphragm. Although this diaphragm can be adjusted to reduce the intensity <strong>of</strong><br />

fluorescence and image flare, closing it will result in a significant loss <strong>of</strong> resolution and is<br />

therefore not recommended. A slight adjustment <strong>of</strong> the collector lens, use <strong>of</strong> an ND filter, or<br />

other controls present on the epifluorescent microscope attachment are better solutions to control<br />

image intensity.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!