Essentials I – Essentials of Widefield-Microscopy

Please be aware, that this course will be mainly practical with only a limited amount of theory. Therefore, we strongly suggest to watch the following recommended tutorials in advance.

1. Transmission light path and its alignment 
   https://www.ibiology.org/talks/microscope-imaging-koehler-illumination/

2. Fluorescence Microscopy 
   https://www.ibiology.org/talks/fluorescence-microscopy/

Course program outline:

Practical part 1:

• Transmission (Koehler, field diaphragm, condenser lens + aperture, sample, objective) 

• Epi-light path (dichroic filters + filter wheel, excitation source)

• How to find the right “filter fluorophore” combination

• Challenges of a multicolor experiment

Practical part 2: 

• sample prep, exposure time, excitation intensity, camera range 

• Objective lenses (NA, magnification, background level)

Further teaching material:

In case you are interested in learning the theory of widefield microscopy in more detail, please check out the following links: 

1. Olympus interactive Java tutorial 
   https://www.olympus-lifescience.com/en/microscope-resource/primer/java/

2. iBiology microscopy courses 
   https://www.ibiology.org/online-biology-courses/microscopy-series/