- Home
- 製品情報
- イメージングシステム
- ZEISS Apotome 3
ZEISS Apotome 3
Optical sectioning in fluorescence imaging for your widefield microscope
Create optical sections of your fluorescent samples - with structured Illumination, removal of out-of-focus light becomes simple and efficient, allowing you to fully focus on your research. ZEISS Apotome 3 recognizes the magnification and moves the appropriate grid into the beampath. The system then calculates your optical section from a number of images with different grid positions. It’s a totally reliable way to remove out-of-focus light, even in thicker specimens. Yet your system remains just as easy to operate as always. You get images with high contrast in the best possible resolution – simply brilliant optical sections.
- Brilliant Optical Sections: Apotome 3 comes with three grids of different geometries, giving you the best resolution no matter which magnification you choose.
- Free Choice of Light Source and Dyes: Apotome 3 adapts to your fluorophores and lights source. So you stay flexible when your experiments evolve in complexity and requirements.
- More Structural Information: Your created images are improved even more by deconvolution, using a patented algorithm for structured illumination. Better recognize important structures of your examined objects.

Highlights
Brilliant Optical Sections
To image structures of sizes ranging from hundreds of micrometers to the nanometer range, you typically use objectives with different magnifications. Apotome 3 comes with three grids of different geometries, giving you the best resolution for each objective. You can fully focus on your experiment as the ideal grid is automatically selected, always resulting in high-contrast optical sections. Apotome 3 significantly increases the axial resolution compared to conventional fluorescence microscopy: you obtain brilliant optical sections that allow 3D-rendering, even from thick specimens.
Free Choice of Light Source and Dyes
Your experiments often evolve over time in complexity and requirements. That’s why you need equipment which is not only performant but also flexible. Use Apotome 3 with conventional metal halide lamps, economic white light LEDs, or the gentle, multi-color Colibri illumination system. Simply change the filter and the system automatically moves the grid into the correct position. It’s your decision, not the technology’s: Whether you work with DAPI, Alexa488, Rhodamin, Cy5, or with vital dyes such as GFP or mCherry – Apotome 3 adapts to your fluorophores and light source, creating the sharp and brilliant images you expect.
More Structural Information
Improve the images you created with Apotome 3 even more by deconvolution, using a patented algorithm for structured illumination. While retaining all raw data, the system allows you to switch between widefield, optical section and deconvolved images for maximum flexibility and best comparability. The fast and robust deconvolution algorithms are easy to use and improve both lateral and axial resolution of your images. Thanks to the improved contrast, higher optical resolution and suppression of existing noise, you can better recognize the structure of the examined objects.
Working Principle
Three Grids for Optimal Optical Section Thickness
Emission light from areas outside of the focal plane is detected by your camera. Contrast and resolution are reduced, depending on the thickness or the volume of the specimen (Figure A: Acquisition with conventional epifluorescence illumination).
No matter which magnification you are using – Apotome 3 automatically places the optimum grid in the beampath of your microscope. Reduction of unwanted background fluorescence increases with the grid frequency and the optical sections become thinner. Image information from outside of the focal plane is suppressed (Figure B, C, and D). This improves contrast and resolution of the optical section. “Low grid” delivers the optimal section thickness in our example (Figure D). Images of this type are particularly suitable for 3D analyses and the processing of your image data with rendering software.

Scanning Mechanism
Apotome 3 projects a grid structure into the focal plane of your specimen, then moves it into different positions using a scanning mechanism. At each grid position, Apotome 3 auto matically acquires a digital image. The system processes all images into one optical section with improved contrast and increased resolution using a patented algorithm. The resulting image is free from grid structures.
Fluorescence excitation light passes through two glass plates in the Apotome 3 slider. When a grid structure is applied to the first glass plate, the grid pattern is “imprinted” in the excitation light. A scanning mechanism tilts the second glass plate and the image of the grid is laterally shifted in the focal plane of the specimen.

Typical Applications
Application | Task | ZEISS Apotome 3 Function |
---|---|---|
Cell Culture |
2D imaging |
|
Fast imaging of a 2D image |
|
|
Reliable detection of the marker even with strong background fluorescence |
|
|
Combination of multiple contrast techniques |
|
|
Live Cell Imaging |
Reduction of phototoxicity |
|
Time-lapse images |
|
|
Vibratome Sections, Histological Samples |
3D imaging |
|
Modification of the optical section thickness |
|
|
Penetration depth |
|
|
3D reconstruction |
|
|
Quantitative analysis |
|
|
Whole Mounts |
3D imaging |
|
Large image areas |
|
ZEISS Apotome 3 at Work
Drosophila Neurons
Molecular and Developmental Genetics, University of Leuven, Belgium
Drosophila neurons, blue: DAPI, yellow: GFP. Objective: Plan-Apochromat 20×/0.8. Courtesy of M. Koch, Molecular and Developmental Genetics, University of Leuven, Belgium.

Drosophila Embryo
Institute for Neurobiology, University of Münster, Germany
Drosophila embryo, green: HRP, red: glia marker, 100 µm Z-stack. Courtesy of C. Klämbt, Institute for Neurobiology, University of Münster, Germany.
Mouse Embryo
Centre for Anatomy, University of Göttingen, Germany
Mouse embryo, tissue section, green: GFP, red: Cy3. Objective: Plan Apochromat 40×/1.3 Oil. Courtesy of N. Büttner, T. Vogel, Centre for Anatomy, University of Göttingen, Germany.
Cortical Neurons
Leibniz-Institute on Aging – Fritz-Lipmann-Institut e.V. (FLI), Germany
Comparison of a widefield image and 3D rendering of cortical neurons stained for DNA and microtubules. Courtesy of L. Behrendt, Leibniz-Institute on Aging – Fritz-Lipmann-Institut e.V. (FLI), Germany.




Lotus Japonicus Root Infected with Symbiotic Bacteria
University of Freiburg, Germany
Autofluorescence of a Lotus Japonicus root infected with symbiotic bacteria stained with mcherry. Courtesy of F. A. Ditengou, University of Freiburg, Germany.



Transgenic Zebrafish Larvae
Leibniz-Institute on Aging – Fritz-Lipmann-Institut e.V. (FLI), Germany
Transgenic zebrafish larvae at 4 days post fertilization staining for: Glial fibrillary acidic protein, acetylated Tubulin, GFP and DNA. Embedded in 1.2% low melt agarose. Courtesy of H. Reuter, Leibniz-Institute on Aging – Fritz-Lipmann-Institut e.V. (FLI), Germany.






Downloads
ZEISS Apotome 3
Optical sectioning in fluorescence imaging for your widefield microscope
ページs: 21
ファイルサイズ: 3666 kB
検索結果1 - 1の1
For the iBooks version of ZEISS Apotome.2:
(interactive iBook; 119 MB)
Either download the file to your computer and perform a manual sync with iTunes, or download the file directly onto your iOS device via WiFi and the Safari Browser.
Download