An Inexpensive Simple-to-Use Inverted Fluorescence Microscope: A New Tool for Cellular Analysis:

Advances in laboratory instrumentation often increase the complexity, size, and cost of the device. The resulting complexity and cost, however, then reduce the accessibility of the device to many laboratories. We examine ways to use technological advances to simplify the design of laboratory devices, retaining the essential components that yield sufficient capabilities for routine uses. Inverted fluorescence microscopes, for example, have evolved into large complex instruments with exquisite imaging capability and are loaded with features requiring trained users and costing tens of thousands of dollars. This has limited their potential ubiquity within laboratories. For simple fluorescence microscopy applications, a much smaller and less expensive device with far fewer features would minimize the issues encountered with traditional inverted fluorescence microscopes. Advances in inexpensive complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor sensor technology have allowed its consideration as an alternative to the expe...