Understanding Spinning Disk Confocal Microscopy

By Louis Keal and Dan Croucher, Photometrics

By Louis Keal and Dan Croucher, Photometrics

Using conventional fluorescence microscopy for biological imaging can be challenging because this technique does not construct 3-D images needed for 3-D specimens, and it is not able to gaze past cell features to view what happens inside certain biological structures. Confocal microscopy uses optical sectioning to obtain multiple, thin, 2-demensional slices of a sample to construct 3-D models. This enables studying 3-D structures with fast dynamic processes, long-term time-lapses, or details inside the cell membrane, all possible with live cells. Download the full paper for more in-depth information on the spinning disk confocal microscopy technique, as well as its advantages and drawbacks.