An Inexpensive Simple-to-Use Inverted Fluorescence Microscope: A New Tool for Cellular Analysis

Advances in laboratory instrumentation often increase the complexity, size, and cost of the device. The resulting complexity and cost, however, then reduce the accessibility of the device to many laboratories. We examine ways to use technological advances to simplify the design of laboratory devices, retaining the essential components that yield sufficient capabilities for routine uses. Inverted fluorescence microscopes, for example, have evolved into large complex instruments with exquisite imaging capability and are loaded with features requiring trained users and costing tens of thousands of dollars. This has limited their potential ubiquity within laboratories. For simple fluorescence microscopy applications, a much smaller and less expensive device with far fewer features would minimize the issues encountered with traditional inverted fluorescence microscopes. Advances in inexpensive complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor sensor technology have allowed its consideration as an alternative to the expensive charge-coupled device cameras currently used. Based on these advances, we have developed a compact, single-color, single-magnification device with a retail price an order of magnitude lower than current benchtop fluorescence microscopes. This device makes routine fluorescence microscopy applications immediately accessible to individual researchers and less well-funded laboratories. Tasks such as determining the presence of cells, their health, confluence, and fluorescent labeling or protein expression are compatible with such a simplified version. The low cost, small size, and ease of use of this device allows fluorescence microscopy to become more accessible for point-of-care medicine and at many points in the research process.