Nikon MicroscopyU - The Source for Microscopy Education

The widefield reflected light fluorescence microscope has been a fundamental tool for the examination of fluorescently labeled cells and tissues since the introduction of the dichromatic mirror in the late 1940s. Furthermore, advances in synthetic fluorophore design coupled to the vast array of commercially available primary and secondary antibodies have provided the biologist with a powerful arsenal in which to probe the minute structural details of living organisms with this technique. In the late twentieth century, the discovery and directed mutagenesis of fluorescent proteins added to the cadre of tools and created an avenue for scientists to probe the dynamics of living cells in culture. This gallery examines the fluorescence microscopy of both cells and tissues with a wide spectrum of fluorescent probes.