Science Lab

Learn. Share. Contribute. The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems. Find scientific research and teaching material on the subject of microscopy. The portal supports 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.

Time-lapse imaging of calcium in cells using the ratiometric calcium indicator Fura-2.

Ratiometric Imaging and Analysis of Ion Concentration in Cells

Many cellular functions depend on the dynamic balance of ions, electric potentials, and pH between the cytosol and surrounding extracellular space. Changes in these values affect cellular function.…

Ribbon diagram of a donor (D) and acceptor (A) molecule which participate in FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer).

What is FRET with FLIM or as it is usually known FLIM-FRET?

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a well-established fluorescence-based technique which is used to study molecular interactions. It is useful for the analysis of protein-DNA and…

Example of calibrating a microscope at a higher magnification value using a stage micrometer.

Microscope Calibration for Measurements: Why and How You Should Do It

Microscope calibration ensures accurate and consistent measurements for inspection, quality control (QC), failure analysis, and research and development (R&D). Calibration steps are described in this…

Electron microscope (EM) image of a cross section of C. elegans (roundworm). Courtesy of T. Müller-Reichert, MPI-CBG, Dresden, Germany and K. McDonald, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Brief Introduction to High-Pressure Freezing for Cryo-Fixation

Preparation of biological specimens for electron microscopy (EM) often requires cryo-fixation which does not introduce significant structural alterations of cellular constituents. A common method used…

Area of a printed circuit board (PCB) which was imaged with extended depth of field (EDOF) using digital microscopy.

Depth of Field in Microscope Images

For microscopy imaging, depth of field is an important parameter when needing sharp images of sample areas with structures having significant changes in depth. In practice, depth of field is…

These images show the microstructure of a hard metal with 10% cobalt which is used for heavy-duty tools. The large increase in magnification of the right image (compared to the left) has a risk of being outside the useful range or, in other words, empty magnification.

What is Empty Magnification and How can Users Avoid it

The phenomenon of “empty magnification”, which can occur while using an optical, light, or digital microscope, and how it can be avoided is explained in this article. The performance of an optical…

Multicolor TauSTED Xtend 775 for Cell Biology applications that require nanoscopy resolution for multiple cellular components. Cells showing vimentin fibrils (AF 594), actin network (ATTO 647N), and nuclear pore basket (CF 680R). Sample courtesy of Brigitte Bergner, Mariano Gonzales Pisfil, Steffen Dietzel, Core Facility Bioimaging, Biomedical Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.

The Guide to STED Sample Preparation

This guide is intended to help users optimize sample preparation for stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy, specifically when using the STED microscope from Leica Microsystems. It gives an…

An 8-color spectral unmixing result from a hyperspectral SRS (stimulated Raman scattering) dataset, showing the biochemically distinct structures of a fresh, untreated apple slice.

How to Prepare Samples for Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) imaging

Find here guidelines for how to prepare samples for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), acquire images, analyze data, and develop suitable workflows. SRS spectroscopic imaging is also known as SRS…

Image of a Siemens star, where the diameter of the 1st black line circle is 10 mm and the 2nd is 20 mm, taken via an eyepiece of a M205 A stereo microscope. The rectangles represent the field of view (FOV) of a Leica digital camera when installed with various C-mounts (red 0.32x, blue 0.5x, green 0.63x).

Understanding Clearly the Magnification of Microscopy

To help users better understand the magnification of microscopy and how to determine the useful range of magnification values for digital microscopes, this article provides helpful guidelines.

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