I am planning on viewing several molecular beacons on a microfluidics systems and l was wondering if it is important to by an actual microscope or if systems exist that can be used for fluorimetry?
Perhaps a laser-induced fluorescence detector would be the way to go.
Adam's suggestion is a good one.
I was going to suggest using an Ocean Optics spectrometer (I used one for a custom LSPR setup) and luckily I stumbled across a paper which you may find useful:
http://ho.seas.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/METMBS2000-Final.pdf
Here Want et al. used a 488 nm beam from an argon ion laser and then an Ocean Optics S-2000-UV-Vis spectrometer to create the LIF system.
http://oceanoptics.com/product/
Hope this helps.
The suggestions above are very good (I've used the Ocean Optics USB spectrometers extensively), but depending on what you have in mind there may be cheaper alternatives. I have used an inexpensive (~$250) digital microscope with a CMOS sensor to monitor fluorescence in microchannels of 50 um or larger. Using an LED as a light source and a band pass filter, you can construct a cheap fluorescence detection system. Of course, how well this works will depend on your LOD and sensitivity requirements. I was working with fluorescein and did not need very low LODs.
In case you are curious, I can give you more details.
Ian, Eric,
I spoke with a Hamamatsu representative at a recent conference and they are making some very affordable 'ultra-compact' devices (
Jules,
I was not aware Hamamatsu was making these devices. I have to say at less than £100, they would definitely be worth considering. Is that price for the ultra-compact head only? I suppose then you would need some extra electronics for powering the device and data collection (maybe some optics as well). Nothing too complicated but also worth pointing out. I see they have some USB ready spectrophotometers as well. Ultimately, I guess it depends on the specifics of Ian's application.
Ian,
I've used these little Aigo microscopes for fluorescence detection before:
http://www.digital-microscopes.co.uk/aigoge5microscope.html
My boss bought some in Singapore for about $250 each about two years ago. Unfortunately, they are a little more expensive here. I'd say that € 381 is a little expensive for what is essentially a CMOS sensor with some cheap optics. The little Hamamatsu device might be a better option if you don't mind some more work to get it running.
Ian,
I should also add that if you google around a bit (alibaba etc), you can find many similar but cheaper hand held microscopes that may suit your needs.
The Wellscope is a microarray plate reader, which as you point out could be an expensive solution. What kind of microfluidic platform are you using? Are you using droplet or well arrays?
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