Olympus has launched the NA 1.7 APON100xHOTIRF microscope objective for the imaging of intracellular molecules. With a numerical aperture (NA) of 1.7, the objective achieves an extremely high Z-resolution for a Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscope. The benefits for research using TIRF microscopy include extremely thin penetration depth and high signal-to-noise ratio, making the lens ideal for single molecule dynamic studies and super resolution applications.
Due to its high NA, the objective from Olympus is ideal for a range of applications requiring super-high Z-resolution and sensitive fluorescent detection. This is achieved through outstanding optical design and the utilisation of a special sapphire glass, used in combination with a low auto-fluorescence (reduced noise) immersion oil that has a very high refraction index. The lens improves single molecule dynamic studies due to the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio offered when detecting surface-bound molecules, with minimal background emission from molecules in the surrounding solution.
The objective is also designed to provide the optical performance required for super resolution applications and TIRF co-localisation studies, with extremely high spatial resolution generated by thin optical slices at the surface of the specimen. With a magnification of x100, the TIRF objective is also well suited for in vitro TIRF microscopy, for example when studying cytoskeletal dynamics or other cellular components in solution.
