FLUOLED 21 the plug-and- play microscope for TB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), based on Olympus CX 21 microscope With fully integrated Royal Blue and White LED illumination (long life light emitting diodes) High efficiency with standard CX21 objectives: no need for dedicated fluorescence lenses. Excellent price/performance ratio FLUOLED 21 is a modified version of Olympus' well known CX21 microscope. This truly plug-and-play microscope is dedicated to the observation of Auramine O stained Mycobacterium tuberculosis slides. White light illumination for the Ziehl-Neelsen staining method is available as well. No installation procedure is required: out of the box and directly on the table, switch on and start. Battery pack operation is available as well. FLUOLED 21 is safe: no UV light is emitted by the light source and a safety switch blocks undesired light through the oculars. Application examples: Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cryptosporidium FLUOLED 21 based on Olympus CX21 microscope Olympus is a trademark of Olympus Corporation FRAEN CORPORATION Srl Via delle Querce 27020 Trivolzio (Pv) Italy Inquiries: info@fraen.com 1
Philosophy and goals FLUOLED 21 is an excellent priced microscope specifically dedicated to the observation of Auramine O stained Mycobacterium tuberculosis slides. It combines the advantages of the well known CX21 microscope from Olympus with the transmitted light fluorescence illumination system made by Fraen. The result is a nicely engineered microscope with an illumination system totally inbuilt into the microscope base. Thanks to transmitted light illumination the standard objectives delivered with the CX21 microscope work very well, with excellent signal intensity. The high signal intensity is particularly helpful for fast and reliable definition of the focus layer. Light is provided by a inbuilt light emitting diodes (LEDs) ensuring many years of operation. Battery pack operation is possible allowing fluorescence microscopy in the field or in case of power failures. 2
General Characteristics FLUOLED 21 is ideal for the observation of Auramine O stained samples such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Cryptosporidium, where low to medium power objectives are used and cost savings on optics are important. FLUOLED 21 does not require any dedicated installation as the illuminating light sources (LEDs) are fully integrated into the microscopes base stand. In addition there is no alignment procedure. The solid state light source (LED) is used in transmission mode ensuring very high levels of signal intensity using the original CX21 objectives provided with the microscope. The high signal intensity is particularly helpful for fast and reliable definition of the focus layer. Dimensions (mm): Weight 350 (L) x 198 (W) x 411 (H) 6,1 Kg Power Operating temperature 100-240VAC 50/60Hz universal voltage 5 C to +40 C (41 F to 104 F) Light sources (light emitting diodes): Emission filter for fluorescence observation: 450nm Royal Blue LED White LED Long pass filter 500 nm FLUOLED 21 complies to the followings standards: EMC std.: EN 55015:2006 EN 61547:1995 +A1:2000 EN 61000-3-2:2006 SAFETY std.: EN 62471:2008 EN 60950:2006 Technical documentation kept by: Fraen Corporation S.r.l. 3
Mechanical characteristics and layout information Use original Olympus CX21 control switches for ON/OFF and intensity regulation Battery pack (optional) with rechargeable batteries in case of power failures or work in the field The solid state light sources (LEDs) are fully integrated into the microscope base. No adaptation and no installation is required. Use the regular switch found on the Olympus CX21 microscope to turn the light source on (1) and select 100% or 50% light intensity by switch (2). When white light LED illumination is required, move the lever under the microscope base (3). This will turn Royal Blue light automatically off. Fluorescence signal from sample is filtered by an emission filter before reaching the observer. 4
Optical Characteristics Highly efficient optical system Excellent illumination uniformity on sample Optical components completely protected from external contaminating agents FLUOLED 21 works in transmitted light fluorescence excitation, where light emitted by the diode (LED) is used in transmission mode rather than reflected mode. In addition a white LED is available for bright field microscopy. Power Density (W/mm 2 ): same value with all objectives Objective 10X-0.25NA Objective 40X 0.65NA Microscope stage CONDENSER CONDENSER In transmitted light fluorescence the condenser creates a specific power density of light on the sample, which is a fixed value. Objectives with smaller numerical aperture typically have a larger diameter of the front lens and therefore are able to capture more light emitted by the sample. Furthermore conveniently priced objectives have less glass inside allowing a very high signal intensity at low and medium magnifications (10x, 20x, 40x). Excitation light remains constant when changing the objective, regardless of numerical aperture, and consequently always the same area is illuminated. Fluorescence excitation is provided by a Royal Blue LED emitting an extremely efficient and narrow spectrum only in the desired bandwidth, thus producing an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Royal Blue LED Auramine excitation Auramine emission 5