MicroscopyEducation
Factors to Consider When Selecting Student Microscopes for Schools and Universities
Vince Vaccarelli Leica Microsystems Inc. | 1700 Leider Lane, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
bringing INNOVATION to light
Using mercury-free lighting, Lumencor light engines provide smarter alternatives to any lamp. Learn more about the benefits of going mercury-free.
LIDA Light Engine®
LIDA light engine is designed to work hand-in-hand with the latest monochrome cameras to generate RGB color transmitted light images with unprecedented sensitivity, spatial resolution, speed and color fidelity.
SPECTRA X Light Engine®
The SPECTRA X light engine affords the end user the ability to exchange single bandpass filters within the light engine and to therefore tailor the output to application-specific requirements.
SOLA Light Engine®
Lumencor offers a bright, solid state white light source as an alternative to traditional mercury-containing arc lamps: the SOLA light engine. SOLAs provide manual (SOLA SM) or electronic (SOLA SE) control options as well as a choice of 365 nm (ultraviolet) or 395 nm (violet) light sources.
MIRA Light Engine®
MIRA light engine is Lumencor’s high performance, bright, solid state illumination subsystem designed for routine, clinical fluorescence applications. MIRA houses multiple, independent light sources and with no fan needed for cooling, it produces no vibrations.
Guiding Lights
- I want to replace the mercury lamp on my microscope and never have to change bulbs ever again.
- I want a 7-line laser light engine for a super-resolution microscopy application.
- I need an 8-line solid state light source for DAPI/CFP/FITC/ YFP/TRITC/mCherry/Cy5/Cy7 excitation in fluorescence microscopy.
- I’m looking for a solid-state replacement for my tungsten-halogen lamp for transmitted light microscopy.
- I’m looking for a business partner to design and build a bioanalytical instrument.
- I would like a sales quotation for a Lumencor Light engine.
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Using mercury-free lighting, Lumencor light engines provide smarter alternatives to any lamp.
“Operating a Light Microscopy Core is challenging because scientists demand high performance illumination for a variety of fluorescent sample types in which sensitivity and lower detection limits vary significantly. We see samples including cells and tissues that have been labeled with dyes, antibodies and fluorescent proteins. We rely heavily on our LED systems to provide Illumination whenever we need it.”
Brian D. Armstrong, City of Hope National Medical Center
“Lumencor’s generous support as a corporate sponsor of My Green Lab has enabled us to bring the message of sustainability in the form of clean lighting practices to labs across the state of California. We have addressed students, postdocs, PIs, sustainability directors, EH&S and facility members, and other key stakeholders about environmental responsibility in the lab. We are also working with numerous manufacturers to benchmark energy efficient equipment for laboratories. The testing we’ve done has shown that Lumencor’s light sources are not only mercury free but also energy efficient.”
Allison Paradise, My Green Lab
“The illumination is even across the field of view through the eyepieces, which is larger than that of the camera detection area. An additional attraction is the rapid electronic switching between excitation channels, providing a further decrease in acquisition speed compared to microscopes equipped with mechanical filter wheels.”
Aurelie Snyder, OHSU
“There are several factors that keep me up at night running a facility like ours. Firstly, our equipment has to work to specification 100% of the time, in the face of constant demand. Secondly, because we are a chargeback facility, doing everything possible to keep costs low and performance optimal is critical. There is also a growing requirement to do longer-term (hours to days) live cell imaging. Minimizing the negative impacts of live cell photosensitivity is critical to our facility users.”
Mark Sanders, University of Minnesota
“The Lumencor SPECTRA X features fast switching times between excitation wavelengths, which can be triggered from the camera. In this way, we can acquire multicolor images at 100 frames per second. Combined with a triggered piezoelectric Z-stage, we can now acquire multicolor Z-stacks at 100 frames per second. This is not possible with a conventional arc lamp source.”
Kurt Thorn, University of California, SF
“Lumencor´s SOLA SM light engines are a great alternative to traditional mercury lamps. They are stable over time, their illumination is spatially uniform, they have a long lifespan and there is no performance drop-off over repeated switching cycles.In addition, the solid state illuminators don´t need to warm up and can be switched off and on instantaneously. You have the best of both worlds: system performance is optimized and money is saved because of reduced down time. Together with lower material and energy costs and fewer maintenance demands, this makes the SOLA SM an optimal light source for our service facility.”
Pawel Pasierbek, PhD., IMP and IMBA
“The overall challenge is always convincing users that the hardware can deliver for a price that makes sense. Illumination for research-grade microscopy presents the particular challenge of having a wide range
of technical requirements (wavelength, power, spatial and temporal distribution). From my side, I first wanted to know that users were happy with the technical features of Lumencor light engines. I can’t promote something they don’t actually want. After organizing the purchase of 5 Lumencor light engines for the University of Edinburgh I’m happy to report I’ve heard nothing but praise for the new systems.”
Martin Farley, The University of Edinburgh
