They are a type of microscope, similar to conventional ones, however, they have a key difference, instead of using common visible light, they use ultraviolet light, which gives a greater power of resolution.
The main difference between the common visible light and the ultraviolet is the wavelength of each. The wavelength of ultraviolet light is shorter and ranges between 10 nm and 400 nm, while visible light ranges between 400 nm and 700 nm.
History of ultraviolet light microscopes
They were invented in 1904 by August Köhler and Moritz von Rohr, scientists working for a microscope-making company. Their creation started from the idea of building a microscope which could achieve higher resolution, so after performing wavelength calculations, they decided to use UV light.
For much of the 20th century, ultraviolet microscopy was widely used because of its potency. With it, it was possible to visualize and study a large number of biological elements and processes that until now had not been described with traditional microscopy. However, phase contrast microscopes were then invented and ultraviolets took a back seat.
How does an ultraviolet light microscope work?
Unlike conventional microscopes that operate with a visible light focus and through the use of eyepieces, ultraviolet light microscopes come equipped with digital sensors or UV-sensitive cameras. The reason they can’t work in the traditional way is because UV light is not visible to humans and is also extremely harmful to the retina of the eyes.
Another detail that this type of microscope has is that the optical parts are not made of glass, since it cannot transmit UV light, to replace it, quartz or fluorite is used.
Ultraviolet microscopes operate with the use of fluorescence, UV light affects the sample, which must have light-emitting properties, whether natural or supplied. Once light hits them, images can be seen, characterized by being bright with a black background, similar to those obtained with fluorescence microscopes.
Resolution of ultraviolet light microscopes
The resolution of any type of microscope will always depend on the wavelength you use. The higher the wavelength, the lower the resolution, otherwise, that is, with low wavelengths, the higher the resolution.
For this reason, ultraviolet light microscopes use lower wavelengths, so that the images obtained can have a high resolution and also can observe details that with traditional microscopes could not be visualized.
Applications of ultraviolet light microscopes
They are used in a wide variety of fields, for example, in forensic science, biology, the pharmaceutical industry or semiconductor companies:
- Forensic science analyzes drugs or other evidence.
- In the pharmaceutical industry, contaminants can be detected in medicines, perform quality control analyzes or observe the crystallization processes of certain proteins.
- In the field of biology they are used for the detection of nucleic acids or to quantify DNA and RNA.
- In the field of semiconductor manufacturing are used during quality control analyzes.
Ultraviolet light microscopes are a recommended alternative when looking for equipment with a higher resolution than conventional microscopes, however, they have some disadvantages, among which stands out the fact that, according to their application or the field in which they are to be used, they become impractical, since it is not possible to directly visualize the sample through the eyepiece.
Kalstein Microscopes
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