Features & Benefits - LV200 Bioluminescence Microscope

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Bioluminescence imaging has been used in a range of research fields over the past decades. Despite its advantages of very low background, high S/N ratios and an extended linear detection range, luminescence imaging with traditional microscopes has suffered from low image resolution and long exposure times. These drawbacks have limited its use and kept bioluminescence in the shadow of fluorescence imaging. With its unique optical design, the LV200 microscope takes full advantage of bioluminescence and provides the capability to acquire images with unrivalled brightness, high resolution and convenience.

OVERVIEW

New optical design for greater sensitivity

Conventional microscopes for bright-field or fluorescence imaging are designed for transmission of excess light and are inefficient in collecting and transmitting light from the sample to the detector. When imaging luminescence with traditional microscopes, precious light is lost along the light path and long exposure times with binning result in low resolution images. To remedy this problem, Olympus has developed the LV200 microscope with specially designed optical elements that maximize the transmission of light from the specimen to the detector. In addition, a straight and short light path minimizes the loss of luminescent light.

High Resolution Luminescence Microscopy

With the greatly increased collection and transmission of light, the use of low-resolution photon counting systems or high pixel binning has become obsolete with the LV200. Depending on the brightness of the sample and required time resolution, EM-CCD cameras or cooled, high sensitivity CCD cameras can be used to obtain high resolution bioluminescence images.

Wide range of magnification

A selection of high quality, high NA Olympus objectives offers a broad range of magnification (10x to 100x) and optics to collect maximal amounts of precious luminescent light.

Multimodal Imaging

The motorized excitation and emission filter wheels with 6 filter positions each provide the opportunity for multimodal imaging. Bright-field, phase-contrast or transmitted fluorescence can be co-imaged with luminescence and allow precise localization of the bioluminescence signal in cells and tissues or co-localization with fluorescent probes.

Optimal environmental control

Bioluminescence imaging is ideal for long-term live cell observation as it does not repeatedly expose cells to bright, phototoxic light that can affect their viability. This advantage is particularly valuable for studies of circadian rhythms, in which gene expression levels are monitored over periods of one or two weeks. To keep cultured cells and tissue sections healthy for such extended periods of time, ideal culture conditions are created with an incubator that controls temperature, humidity and the gas atmosphere.

Use in normal lab environment

The light-tight enclosure of the LV200 shields the samples and optics from external light and allows the microscope to be used under ambient light in the laboratory. For applications or samples that require very long exposure times, the microscope might have to be moved to a low-light room. When installed on the specifically designed table for the LV200, moving the instrument requires little effort and downtime.