Bio Labware Review: Microscopy

The symbiolab DIY labware review has a new chapter. This week, we discuss some of the major forms of microscopy, commercial devices and their DIY counterparts.

The focus in this chapter lies in creating an overview of the more basic and general types of microscopy, which allow the magnification and study of materials in various scales, states and colorations. However, we DO NOT go into detail of more specialized and advanced techniques at this point (like confocal, phase contrast, interference microscopy, etc. are to optical microscopy). Hopefully, we will be able to fill in such gaps in the future, but we also invite everyone, who wishes to add something to the review, to contact us by mail, or contribute directly on github.

The devices we cover in this chapter are:

• Stereo microscopes

• Classical optical microscopes

• Fluorescence microscopes

• Microtomes

• Transmission electron microscopes (TEMs)

• Scanning electron microscopes (SEMs)

• Sputter coaters

• Scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs)

• Atomic force microscopes (AFMs)

The DIY projects are at various development stages for different devices, ranging from completely undocumented (like TEMs), up to whole multigroup projects with commercially available kits (AFMs). Check the whole review out on Github.