Optical microscopes are available in the Microscopy Lab for different techniques, such as brightfield, polarization contrast, fluorescence. Microscopes available:

• Zeiss Stemi 305
• Zeiss Axio Scope.A1
• Zeiss Axiovert 5
• Zeiss Jenapol
• Leitz LaborLux 11 POL

The microscopes can also be equipped with the following cameras: Sony Alpha 6000 digital camera and Kern ODC-86 microscope camera.

We also have the FlowCam 5000 by Yokogawa, which is a particle analyzer capable of taking optical images. It is comparable to a flow cytometer and features a syringe pump and 100 x 700 µm glass capillary, where liquid passes through. During a sample run, images of the flow are taken with a camera, magnified with a 10x objective. Detected particles are compiled as images in a collage, which can then be grouped and classified by the user based on the particle properties (e.g. size description and morphology, among others) provided by the software. Sample volume ranges from 0.25 to 1 mL.

The FlowCam provides:

• fast data acquisition
• capability to distinguish various particles of the same size and morphology
• large sample volume compared to traditional methods like hemocytometry
• detailed statistics for number and volume of particles in environmental and laboratory samples.

The contact person for the FlowCam 5000 is Sven Peters.