Analytical & Quantitative Light Microscopy

Directors: Directors: Greenfield Sluder, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester; Jason Swedlow, University of Dundee; and David Wolf, Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.

Course Date: May 4 - 13, 2011

A comprehensive and intensive course in light microscopy for researchers in biology, medicine, and material sciences. This course provides a systematic and in-depth examination of the theory of image formation and application of video and digital methods for exploring subtle interactions between light and the specimen. This course emphasizes the quantitative issues that are critical to the proper interpretation of images obtained with modern wide-field and confocal microscopes.

Laboratory exercises, demonstrations, and discussions include: (1) geometrical and physical optics of microscope image formation including Abbe’s theory of the microscope and Fourier optics; (2) interaction of light and matter; (3) phase contrast polarization and interference microscopy for the nondestructive analysis of molecular and fine-structural organization in living cells; (4) fluorescence microscopy, quantification of fluorescence, and GFP; (5) principles and application of digital video imaging, recording, analysis, and display; (6) digital image processing and quantitative digital image deconvolution; (7) ratiometric measurement of intracellular ion concentrations; (8) confocal microscopy; and (9) new advances in light microscopy such as FRET, FLIM, TIRF, and patterned illumination.

Featured Nikon Equipment

For more information, visit http://www.mbl.edu/education/courses/special_topics/aqlm.html