Wymke Ockenga
Wymke Ockenga studied Human Biology at the Philipps-Universität in Marburg. Her main subjects were cell biology and biological chemistry. She did her diploma thesis at the Institute for Cytobiology and Cytopathologie and is currently working as a PhD student at the Justus-Liebig-Universität in Gießen.
A Brief History of Light Microscopy – From the Medieval Reading Stone to Super-Resolution
The history of microscopy begins in the Middle Ages. As far back as the 11th century, plano-convex lenses made of polished beryl were used in the Arab world as reading stones to magnify manuscripts.…
How to Clean Microscope Optics
Clean microscope optics are essential for obtaining good microscope images. If they are dirty, the microscope should be cleaned to avoid a loss of quality. If you decide to do this yourself, you…
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy
Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) is a special technique in fluorescence microscopy developed by Daniel Axelrod at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in the early 1980s. TIRF microscopy…
Applications of TIRF Microscopy in Life Science Research
The special feature of TIRF microscopy is the employment of an evanescent field for fluorophore excitation. Unlike standard widefield fluorescence illumination procedures with arc lamps, LEDs or…
Optical Contrast Methods
Optical contrast methods give the potential to easily examine living and colorless specimens. Different microscopic techniques aim to change phase shifts caused by the interaction of light with the…
Phase Contrast
Phase contrast is an optical contrast technique for making unstained phase objects (e.g. flat cells) visible under the light microscope. Cells that appear inconspicuous and transparent in brightfield…
Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)
Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy is a good alternative to brightfield microscopy for gaining proper images of unstained specimens that often only provide a weak image in…
An Introduction to Fluorescence
Fluorescence is widely used in microscopy and an important tool for observing the distribution of specific molecules. Most molecules in cells do not fluoresce. They therefore have to be marked with…
Effects of light on atoms and molecules - fluorescence and phosphorescence
Molecules and atoms can exist in different quantum states. These states are dedicated to different energy levels; the quantum state with the lowest energy is called the ground state. Every state of…
Polarization Contrast
Polarization microscopy is routinely applied in material sciences and geology to identify minerals on the basis of characteristic refraction properties and colors. In biology, polarization microscopy…
Fluorescence in Microscopy
Fluorescence microscopy is a special form of light microscopy. It uses the ability of fluorochromes to emit light after being excited with light of a certain wavelength. Proteins of interest can be…