PRECISION UNIVERSAL COMPENSATOR FOR IMAGING POLARIMETRY

马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔海洋生物实验室的研究人员 实用型偏振光学显微镜(偏光显微镜)的研制 在速度、分辨率和分辨率方面优于传统的极光望远镜 多功能性。显微镜，具有新的液晶(LC)万能 补偿器，在不到一秒的时间内产生图像，测量光学 各向异性与样品取向和空间分布无关 显微镜的分辨率。虽然传统的Poll-Scope通常 用于测量单个样本点的光学各向异性，新的 显微镜提供大范围的测量，具有高度的空间和 时间分辨率。 我们建议提高精密液晶屏的施工和控制技术 缓速器以提高新极点示波器的速度和灵敏度，以及 研究开发一种方便、通用的 带软件的显微镜附件。这些增强功能将至关重要 提高可视化和定量分析的第一能力 大分子组装的动态组织，独立于其 定位，在活细胞中。此类程序集的示例包括 有丝分裂纺锤体，细胞分裂时的收缩环或 细胞间期的微管组织。我们预计会有一个 基于这项研究的中等价位配件将找到坚实的利基市场 科学研究市场，以及临床和工业市场 申请。

Researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, are developing a polarized light microscope (pol-scope) with substantial advantages over traditional pol-scopes in speed, resolution, and versatility. The microscope, with a new liquid crystal (LC) universal compensator, produces images in under one second that measure optical anisotropies irrespective of sample orientation and at the spatial resolution of the microscope. While traditional pol-scopes are typically used to measure optical anisotropy in a single specimen point, the new microscope provides measurements over a large area with high spatial and temporal resolution. We propose to advance the art of construction and control of precision LC retarders to increase the speed and sensitivity of the new pol-scope, and to investigate feasibility of developing a convenient and versatile microscope accessory with software. These enhancements will critically improve the first capability to visualize and analyze quantitatively the dynamic organization of macromolecular assemblies, independent of their orientation, in living cells. Examples of such assemblies include the mitotic spindle, the contractile ring during cell cleavage or the microtubule organization during cell interphase. We anticipate that a moderately priced accessory based on this research will find solid niche markets for scientific investigations, as well as clinical and industrial applications.