Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

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…

Modulation contrast visualizes transparent, low-contrast specimens.

Integrated Modulation Contrast (IMC)

Hoffman modulation contrast has established itself as a standard for the observation of unstained, low-contrast biological specimens. The integration of the modulator in the beam path of themodern…

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…

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…

TIRF Microscopy of the Apical Membrane of Polarized Epithelial Cells

Application of TIRF microscopy (Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence) allows the visualization of structures at the apical surface of polarized epithelial cells that have been hidden in conventional…

Exploring Cell Logistics

Using TIRF microscopy, scientists have been able to take a closer look at intracellular transport processes with the example of the galactose-binding protein Galectin-3, which has been identified as a…

Multi-Wavelength Epi-Illumination in Fluorescence Microscopy

Fluorescence is a process where a substance after having absorbed light (photons) emitts a radiation the wavelength (colour) of which is longer than that of the absorbed light, and where this…