I have to image some cells with Green Fluorescent Protein for my project.
I’m confused, can the fluorescence optics module work with the openFlexure regular microscope. Are there instructions and sources for the parts? I just built this one I think it’s v7: OpenFlexure Microscope Kit – IO Rodeo
I found this in another thread
<<Instructions for assembling the reflection/fluorescence optics module are most complete for the Delta stage [OpenFlexure Delta Stage]>>
Hi @techdog, coincidentally I am currently looking into this for a commission job.
Long story short it would work in principle but the v7 hasn’t been tested with a fluorescence setup so there are some quirks and might need some tweaking to get working. It’s not an out of the box solution like regular light microscopy.
I’m still waiting for a glass manufacturer to get back to me with some filters so I haven’t got a complete one yet. But I can try to point you in the right direction if you need some general guidance.
The necessary parts are linked in the v7 microscope instructions. As @malkanicus says, that imaging mode has not been tested much recently. The assembly instructions for the Delta stage give a few more details on how to build the optical system, but you do need the STLs from the v7 microscope not from the Delta stage -the camera is rotated 45 degrees between the two systems.
Where would I get the optical filters and beam splitter that I would cut, and once in place it seems like you can’t switch it out with the regular camera very well for example how would I switch between regular imaging and fluorescent imaging.
Hi @techdog sorry I didn’t get an email notification about your reply so missed it.
Getting filters is basically the tricky part. There are a handful of companies that I know who could supply the filters (Comar Optics, Thor Labs & Edmund Optics) though from personal experience they can be a bit of a headache to get in touch with and aren’t really set up for small bespoke orders.
Out of interest what dyes are you using and do you know what excitation & emission wavelengths you are targeting? If by luck it’s the same that I am currently enquiring about I might be able to help but that is likely a long shot.
As for your second question the short answer is it’s a bit complicated. In an ideal world I would suggest separate microscopes for LM and Fluro. As an alternative you could have two separate optical assemblies and swap them out as required. This would require partial disassembly and you would need 2 doublet tube lenses at the very least but it is theoretically doable. Though I wouldn’t say I recommend it.