Leica Microsystems: Leica Science Lab

Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Fluorescence Recovery after Photobleaching (FRAP) and its Offspring

FRAP (Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) can be used to study cellular protein dynamics: For visualization the protein of interest is fused to a fluorescent protein or a fluorescent dye. A…

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)

The Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) phenomenon offers techniques that allow studies of interactions in dimensions below the optical resolution limit. FRET describes the transfer of the energy…

An Introduction to CARS Microscopy

CARS overcomes the drawbacks of conventional staining methods by the intrinsic characteristics of the method. CARS does not require labeling because it is highly specific to molecular compounds which…

Super-Resolution GSDIM Microscopy

The nanoscopic technique GSDIM (ground state depletion microscopy followed by individual molecule return) provides a detailed image of the spatial arrangement of proteins and other biomolecules within…

Scheme of a 2D mosaic scan. Drosophila melanogaster (eye section)

Mosaic Images

Confocal laser scanning microscopes are widely used to create highly resolved 3D images of cells, subcellular structures and even single molecules. Still, an increasing number of scientists are…

Metallography with Color and Contrast

The examination of microstructure morphology plays a decisive role in materials science and failure analysis. There are many possibilities of visualizing the real structures of materials in the light…

An ID card which has been tampered with by counterfeiters who inserted a hologram.

Is that Document Genuine or Fake? How do They Identify Fake Documents?

This article shows how forensic experts use microscopy for analysis to identify counterfeit, fake documents, such as ID cards, passports, visas, certificates, etc. Then they know if it is genuine or…

Confocal Optical Section Thickness

Confocal microscopes are employed to optically slice comparably thick samples.

Section taste buds rabbit, differential interference contrast microscope

Optical Contrast Methods

Optical contrast methods give the potential to easily examine living and colorless specimens. Different microscopic techniques aim to change phase shifts caused by the interaction of light with the…