Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopes Revision notes | A-Level Biology OCR

Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopes

This lesson covers:

How a laser scanning confocal microscope works

Laser scanning confocal microscopes

Laser scanning confocal microscopy is a type of fluorescence microscopy.

Diagram showing the components and light path of a laser scanning confocal microscope including laser, confocal pinholes, mirror, objective lens, and specimen.

These microscopes use a laser beam (a single spot of focused light) to scan a specimen that has been tagged with a fluorescent dye.

Diagram showing the components and light path in a laser scanning confocal microscope, including detector and confocal pinholes.

The dyed components give off light which is focused through a pinhole and onto a detector. This detector is connected to a computer which generates an image. This image can then be converted into a 3D image.

The pinhole blocks any out-of-focus light so the microscope can produce clearer images than a light microscope. However, these microscopes have a lower resolution than electron microscopes.

Laser scanning confocal microscopes can be used to:

Look at different depths within a specimen.
Observe living specimens.