Why Fast Switching Matters in Live Cell Imaging
You’ve spent weeks coaxing your precious culture to confluence, only to watch it bleach and crash after a handful of time-lapse frames. The silent culprit is often invisible – your light source.
Why it matters
Any photon that hits a live specimen does two things: drives fluorescence and accelerates phototoxic reactions that compromise physiology. Traditional arc lamps stay on continuously, so your sample absorbs light during camera read-out, stage movement, filter changes – every micro-pause adds dose but no data.
Because LEDs can be gated electronically, they eliminate this “illumination overhead.” For high-speed calcium imaging or 24-hour migration studies, the difference between millisecond and micro-second shuttering can extend viable imaging time from minutes to hours.
What can you do?
-
Expose for micro-seconds, not milliseconds. Our pE-800 synchronises to a camera’s TTL output in under 7 µs, trimming total light dose by an order of magnitude.
-
Tailor excitation to each fluorophore. Eight individually addressable LEDs (365-740 nm) let you set both wavelength and intensity per channel, matching the absorption peaks of GFP, mCherry, or a far-red Ca²⁺ indicator without unnecessary spill-over.
-
Automate complex sequences. Built-in “Sequence Runner” scripts rapid multi-colour protocols – e.g., 405 nm photoactivation followed by alternating 488/561 nm acquisition – without mechanical filter wheels, shaving seconds from every loop.
-
Keep your incubator happy. LEDs emit negligible heat and zero ozone or UV-C, so temperature and gas levels stay stable for delicate cells.
Perfect Products for Live-Cell Imaging
The pE-800 offers sub-10 µs switching, eight-channel flexibility, and whisper-quiet operation can turn your microscope into a true live-cell workhorse.
The pE-400max offers individual on/off and irradiance control of each of its four channels, which is crucial for high-speed live cell imaging
Written by Ben Furness / [email protected] / LinkedIn Profile
