Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy01:26

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

14.9K
Phase-Contrast Microscopes
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
14.9K
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy01:18

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

12.0K
Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
12.0K
Overview of Microscopy Techniques01:22

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

17.5K
The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...
17.5K
Two-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology01:29

Two-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

1.8K
Two-dimensional (2D) microscopy encompasses a range of optical techniques that capture images within a single focal plane, offering detailed representations of microscopic structures. These techniques are essential in biological and medical research, enabling the visualization of cellular and subcellular structures with different levels of contrast and specificity.There are several major types of 2D microscopy, each with strengths and applications.Bright-Field MicroscopyBright-field microscopy...
1.8K
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy01:16

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

21.6K
Confocal microscopy is an advanced microscopic technique. The prime advantage of the confocal microscope over other microscopy techniques is its ability to block the out-of-focus light from the illuminated samples using pinholes. It is widely used with fluorescence optics to obtain high-resolution, sharp contrast images. Unlike optical microscopes, confocal microscopes use a focused beam of light laser to scan the entire sample surface at different z-planes. These microscopes are, therefore,...
21.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mapping Real-world Rebiopsy Events to Treatment Trajectories in EGFR/ALK/ROS1-Driven Non-small-cell Lung Cancer: Insights from the AURORA Cohort.

Clinical lung cancer·2026
Same author

Robot-assisted MIS transiliac sacroiliac joint fusion: Technical note.

Neuro-Chirurgie·2025
Same author

Functional Connectivity Is Stronger Between Unisensory and Multisensory Regions for Nonsimultaneous Judgments of Visual-Tactile Stimuli.

Psychophysiology·2025
Same author

First Constraint on Atmospheric Millicharged Particles with the LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment.

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

New Constraints on Cosmic Ray-Boosted Dark Matter from the LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment.

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Dark Matter Search Results from 4.2  Tonne-Years of Exposure of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment.

Physical review letters·2025
Same journal

A compact low-power magnetic particle imaging scanner based on a permanent-magnet field-free-line generator with high gradient.

The Review of scientific instruments·2026
Same journal

Achieving ultrahigh resolution with high efficiency: Optical design of the two-dimensional Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (2D-RIXS) spectrometer at NanoTerasu beamline 02U.

The Review of scientific instruments·2026
Same journal

Automated laboratory x-ray diffractometer and fluorescence spectrometer for high-throughput materials characterization.

The Review of scientific instruments·2026
Same journal

Nonlinear Bayesian Doppler tomography for simultaneous reconstruction of flow and temperature.

The Review of scientific instruments·2026
Same journal

A Reflectance-based multimodal wearable photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor.

The Review of scientific instruments·2026
Same journal

Temporal analysis of products-Raman (TAP-Raman): An integrated setup for operando spectroscopy and transient kinetic analysis.

The Review of scientific instruments·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope
14:09

Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope

Published on: April 7, 2014

16.2K

Anisotropic contrast optical microscope.

D Peev1, T Hofmann1, N Kananizadeh2

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.

The Review of Scientific Instruments
|December 3, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces an anisotropic contrast optical microscope that enhances image contrast for transparent specimens. The new microscope achieves ultra-sensitive detection of minute mass changes, improving detection limits by four orders of magnitude.

More Related Videos

Hyperspectral Imaging as a Tool to Study Optical Anisotropy in Lanthanide-Based Molecular Single Crystals
07:24

Hyperspectral Imaging as a Tool to Study Optical Anisotropy in Lanthanide-Based Molecular Single Crystals

Published on: April 14, 2020

18.8K
Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
08:01

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures

Published on: November 21, 2019

7.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope
14:09

Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope

Published on: April 7, 2014

16.2K
Hyperspectral Imaging as a Tool to Study Optical Anisotropy in Lanthanide-Based Molecular Single Crystals
07:24

Hyperspectral Imaging as a Tool to Study Optical Anisotropy in Lanthanide-Based Molecular Single Crystals

Published on: April 14, 2020

18.8K
Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
08:01

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures

Published on: November 21, 2019

7.8K

Area of Science:

  • Optical microscopy
  • Polarimetry
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Standard optical microscopy struggles to provide contrast for thin, transparent specimens.
  • Mueller matrix imaging offers polarization-sensitive information but requires advanced analysis.
  • Anisotropic materials can modulate light polarization, potentially creating contrast.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an optical microscope that generates contrast for transparent specimens using an anisotropic filter.
  • To demonstrate enhanced sensitivity and quantitative analysis capabilities.
  • To explore applications in detecting nanoscale materials and biological samples.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing an anisotropic filter (nanostructured thin film) in the object plane of an optical microscope.
  • Modulating and analyzing light polarization using polarizers, analyzers, and compensators.
  • Applying direct generalized ellipsometry for Mueller matrix image extraction and quantitative analysis.

Main Results:

  • Successfully generated contrast in Mueller matrix images of transparent specimens on an anisotropic filter.
  • Quantified the adsorption of an organic self-assembled monolayer with high sensitivity (≈49 fg).
  • Demonstrated a four-order-of-magnitude improvement in mass detection sensitivity compared to existing methods.

Conclusions:

  • The anisotropic contrast optical microscope significantly enhances image contrast and detection sensitivity for transparent samples.
  • The method offers a powerful tool for nanoscale material characterization and sensitive detection.
  • Potential applications include nanoparticle detection, advanced chromatography imaging, and live-cell imaging.