The Rose of Jericho ‘a plant full of fire’

The Dutch Society for Microscopy (NGVM) department West, organized a workshop on fluorescence microscopy. An introductory presentation was given on this important application of microscopy. Fluorescence microscopy is used in many different fields, such as in medical science, for example in cytology, but also in other areas such as forensic research, pollen research, mineralogy, etc.

Chestnut and the Motic Panthera U

While looking through my new stock of prepared slides, I came across this specimen, a section of a petiole of the Castanea sativa. The Castanea sativa or European chestnut is widespread in Europe and Asia, meanwhile also in other temperate zones. The chestnuts are consumed since ancient times by people. The tree can become very old.

It was not necessary to take multiple photos of the object and stack it. The coupe was cut perfectly flat. The section is stained according to the Wacker 3A procedure (Acridine red -Acriflavin - Astra blue).

Green fluorescing nucleus

Desmids are unicellular micro-organisms belonging to the green algal families of Mesotaeniaceae and Desmidiaceae. They occur in standing freshwaters. The Desmids on the images are found in a fen in Limburg, the most southern province of The Netherlands.

Toxic Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata has deep dark green needles all year round. It is an evergreen tree that is also often used as a hedge. In winter, Taxus bears red fruits that are much loved by birds, but very poisonous to ungulates.

Taxus baccata is usually a sturdy shrub that, if given space, can grow into a tree. Growth is slow but eventually the tree can reach a height of about 15 to 20 meters with a width of 12 to 15 meters. The species is widely used for hedges and also for topiary. Bulbs, cones, columns and even animal shapes are available. Taxus can tolerate very strong pruning, even down to the perennial wood.

The male Pine Cone

A Pine Cone is a scaly trimmed woody cone fruit of a coniferous tree. There are more than 100 types of coniferous trees. These produce both male and female cone fruits. The male pinecone is the smallest, contains pollen and only lives for a few weeks. The female pinecone is larger and contains (if fertilized) seeds.

Viburnum's annoying ‘hair’

The Viburnum rhytidophyllum or Leatherleaf plant is native to central China and is especially decorative along the roads, even in the shade. The plant is a shrub 3 to 4 m high. The leaves are lance-shaped, 15-20 cm, pendulous, leathery with relief, dark green on top, light green and hairy. ‘Hairy’; that is, occupied with stellate (star-shaped) nonglandular trichomes. Trichomes can have many functions like defence against harmful insects, humidity regulation and even a sensory function. 

Dogtooth Calcite

Calcite (CaCO3) is a mineral found in many different crystal forms. Dogtooth Calcite are calcite crystals that grow in a certain crystal form. This shape is long, pointed and resembles a dog's canines. This crystal shape comes in a wide variety of sizes, and of course the small ones are more common than the big ones. The growth of very large crystals, also called Dogtooth Spars, takes an extremely long time in undisturbed, calcite-rich water. Dogtooth Calcite crystals are quite common. Normally they are quite small, say a few millimeters.

In the photos we are introduced to the fluorescent properties of this mineral. Long pass fluorescence filter blocks were used for the exposure of the mineral sample: DAPI 375 nm excitation wavelength (UV) and MB 480 nm excitation wavelength (blue light).

Wormwood fluorescence

The photos we see here were taken from a Plescher prepared slide. Plescher fluorescence prepared slides are characterized by a distinctive, three-dimensional, deeply structured honeycomb structure. This is made possible by special, complex, gentle pre-treatment of the hand coupes made of living material that reproduce the sensitive cell contents surprisingly well. The conventional ultra-thin section technology with embedding in paraffin, does not provide the same detailed results. Plescher specimens impress with their specially developed Plescher staining with clarity and gloss, differentiated on a deep black background at 460 - 490 nm excitation wavelength. They are therefore generally ideal for photo stacking.

Selecting the right microscope

AE Series

Category: Advanced Inverted Microscopes for Transmitted light

Target specimen: Cell cultures from microbiology, in flasks or petri dishes, on agar or in fluids; water samples from biology

Target customer: Lab technicians, advanced students

This comparison is an approach for classifying different Inverted microscopes in a defined performance range. Here we are talking about Motic’s AE series, meant for routine work in the microbiology lab of universities and related labs of industrial companies.

The following chart is based on the specifications of the basic outfit of both AE models and its available options. Within this series of publications, our rating always rests upon an individual understanding and validation of the actual numerical values.

AE SERIES - Comparison Chart

Inverted but also ‘upright’

The photos show a cross section of a leaf stalk or petiole of the mahogany tree. A Motic inverted microscope with a fluorescence attachment is used for this. The attachment is equipped with a DAPI long pass filter (excitation at 375 nm).

Large cattail

Typha latifolia, called ‘large cattail’ in English, is a water plant that is mainly found in eutrophic and acid water, along the shores of ponds, ditches and in swamps. This perennial has an upward and wide-spread growth habit. It is easy proliferating through rhizomes. If planted in a garden pond, locking it in a good pond basket is the message. The leaves are broad, linear and blue-green colored. Large cattail blooms from June to September with double cigar-shaped ears. The male ears are at the top, the female right below. After wind fertilization, the characteristic brown colored ‘cigars' form the female flowers. The seeds of cattail develop from the flowers on the cigars. The seed fluff is normally transported by the wind. The plant is hardy, endures sea breeze, air pollution and has a beautiful winter silhouette.

 

Pollen bring light into the darkness

A way of classifying pollen species is by monitoring auto fluorescence images of pollen grains. Several components of the exine (i.e. the outer layer of the pollen wall) show conspicuous auto fluorescence in the pollen grain.

The Dujardin coloring technique

The images shown are taken from a beautifully colored prepared slide from the archives of the Royal Antwerp Society for Micrography. The slide is already several decades old. It shows a cross-section of a twig of the plane tree. In spite of the age of the slide, the colors are still clear and fresh thanks to the use of the simple simultaneous Dujardin coloring method. During the coloring the colors were brought into balance with great skill, showing the various plant tissues. On the fluorescence image the plant various tissues are shown in a different manner.

A fluorescent flea

Almost daily we have to deal with arthropods such as insects, spiders and their kind around us. Yet we realize less often that these animals can provide a beautiful light show.

Fireflies and other bioluminescent animals produce their luminous shine through a chemical reaction. Other arthropods produce light via fluorescence. At certain wavelengths of light including ultraviolet light, molecules in their exoskeleton absorb this light and radiate it again in a different color with a (longer) wavelength, (there are 'excited electrons' involved, but let's skip the details here)

Green light from the rocks of the Aladzha Monastery

The remains of the Aladzha Monastery on the Black Sea coast are located just above the port city of Varna, Bulgaria. In the very distant past, this monastery was carved out of a steep rock wall consisting of limestone. The monastery is formed by small caves situated at different levels in the rock wall.

In the photos of some pieces of limestone you can recognize the powdery structure of this soft limestone. 

However, let’s still have a look under the fluorescence microscope then; blue light excitation and FITC filter.  As can you see, green light, this white limestone shows auto fluorescence.

Selecting the right microscope

BA Elite Series

Category: Advanced Transmitted Light Microscopes

Target specimen: Transparent samples (sections, smears, emulsions, water samples) from Biology & Medicine; rarely from Industry

Target customer: Lab technicians

This comparison is an approach for classifying different microscope models in a defined performance range. Here we are talking about Motic’s BA Elite series of Advanced Transmitted light microscopes, meant for routine work in university and biomedical lab. The comparison is meant to help you in finding a suitable solution for your lab.

The following chart is based on the specifications of the basic outfit for each model and its upgrade options. Our rating of the single specifications rests upon an individual understanding of the actual numerical values. This is a subjective rating, and we understand that each person might have its own opinion.

BA SERIES - Comparison Chart

Silverberry and the universe

A prepared slide of Silverberry scaly hair is often found in microscopy starters packages for amateurs. The beautiful colors and shapes do well under the microscope.

Some remarks about FLUORESCENCE

In standard light microscopy FLUORESCENCE is clearly one of the most challenging methods. It requires a clear understanding of the scientific background as well as a proper microscope setup: there are many options to miss a satisfying image result. As the costs of a traditional Mercury illumination setup (still the most flexible approach) are remarkable, a beginner in FLUORESCENCE should take his time to evaluate the adequate microscope & filter hardware.

A safe and easy way to operate a Fluorescence microscope for beginners

LEDs are everywhere. This technology is going to roll around also the world of microscopy. For basic illumination purposes, LED technology is already established. Traditional workers will regret the death of the old fashioned Halogen light sources with their emotional high percentage of long wavelengths: think about a candle-light dinner. But LED technology is going to answer this lack of atmosphere by the offer of a large choice of color temperatures. May be this helps.