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It is surely possible but it will require you to make some decisions about
your imaging requirements (eg sample - fixed or live?, bright or dim?;
required temporal/spatial resolution?; detector sensitivity?; illumination
wavelengths and # of lasers required; etc.).

Several companies offer Laser Scanning Confocals (LSC) and several more offer
Spinning-Disk Confocals.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both
techniques:  LSC's focus laser light into a single confocal pinhole and
raster-scan the sample while spinning-disc confocals spread the beam over many
confocal pinholes, which tends to reduce photobleaching in the latter.  This
(beam spreading) also diminishes the laser power at any one pinhole and the
returning emission signal is similarly diminished, which tends to lenghten
exposure times.  LSC's sometimes have a pinhole size that is adjustable
allowing the user to set the thickness of the optical section.  However, LSC's
are not capable of true "real-time" imaging because of the nature of a raster
scan - the illumination spot can never be at two different spots at the same
exact time - while spinning-disk confocals scan the whole sample at the same
time and allow frame-rates from 360-1000 frames per second (depending on disc
speed).

As you can see, there are various advantages and disadvantages to both
techniques.  I would figure out what it is you are hoping to achieve in your
imaging and then weigh the pros and cons of the various confocal techniques as
well as pros and cons between manufacturers (ie support, software interface,
etc.).  And don't forget to check the budget (this stuff can get pretty
pricey)!

Best of luck.

Mike


>===== Original Message From Confocal Microscopy List
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>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
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>
>Hi everyone,
>We have a new upright Zeiss Epi-fluorescent scope and we want to turn it
>
>into a confocal.  Can anyone give advice on the best way to do this??
>Thanks,
>Michelle

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Michael C. Adams
Research Technician for Dr. Clare Waterman-Storer
Laboratory of Cell Motility Studies
Department of Cell Biology
The Scripps Research Institute
10550 North Torrey Pines Road, CB 163
La Jolla, CA 92037

TEL 858.784.9244
FAX 858.784.7521
EMAIL [log in to unmask]
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