Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Fluorescence Microscopy

Mains level: NA

microscope

Central idea: Researchers at Winona State University, Minnesota, have created a design for a rudimentary fluorescence microscope.

Why in news?

The development can be put together at a cost of $30-50 (Rs 2,500-4,100) using products purchased on online marketplaces.
The device aims to democratize access to fluorescence microscopy.

What is Fluorescence Microscopy?

An optical microscope views an object by studying how it absorbs, reflects or scatters visible light.
A fluorescence microscope views an object by studying how it reemits light that it has absorbed, i.e. how it fluoresces.
The object is illuminated with light of a specific wavelength.
Particles in the object absorb this light and reemit it at a higher wavelength.
These particles are called fluorophores; the object is infused with them before being placed under the microscope.

The setup consists of two plexiglass surfaces, an LED flashlight, three theatre stage-lighting filters, a clip-on macro lens, and a smartphone.
The smartphone (with the lens attached) is placed on one surface that is suspended at a height (say, a foot above).
The second sheet is placed below and holds the object.
One of the stage-lighting filters is held between the flashlight and the object and the other two were held between the object and the smartphone.
The sources of illumination were also LED flashlights emitting light of correspondingly different wavelengths.

With this setup, the researchers were able to image the creatures’ brain, spinal cord, heart, and head and jaw bones.
They were able to zoom in and out using the smartphone camera and the clip-on lens.

Using a ‘glowscope’ still requires access to fluorophores, suitable biological samples, the know-how to combine the two, and some knowledge of physics to work out which LED flashlight to buy.
The Foldscope was truly remarkable because all its required components were simple to understand.
However, the fact that a simple fluorescent microscope can be set up with a few thousand rupees means researchers can prepare samples and take them to schools, where students can observe them.

Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left