Overview
CoolLED’s pE-300white offers intense, broad-spectrum LED illumination for fluorescence microscopy that is perfect for hospital and regular research laboratory environments. The system is a mercury-free alternative that is safer, more controllable and precise than traditional bulb illumination options. Spectral coverage is from the UV (DAPI excitation) to the red region (Cy5 excitation).
LED technology is quickly evolving, and since 2017 our new generation has double the intensity at the sample plane, and for even higher intensity is available as a Direct Fit model (which also reduces the cost to buy and run thanks to fewer consumables). With ACT Label certification, it’s even an environmentally friendly option for illumination.
The pE-300white is a compact and simple to use LED illumination unit. It provides a broad spectrum of illumination, covering the excitation bands of common fluorophores such as DAPI, CFP, Aqua, FITC, TRITC, TxRed, Cy5 and many more. Operation is by a manual control pod with instant on/off and intensity control from 0-100%, with remote control available via USB or TTL trigger.
It is now possible to view and image your samples brighter than ever
As part of the award winning pE-300 Series, the enhanced pE-300white now delivers double the intensity at the microscope sample plane.
Convallaria sample captured using Photometrics Prime camera with 10 ms exposure.
With the new enhanced pE-300white, all three channels at full power use just 60 Watts. That is almost a quadruple efficiency increase. This compares to other LED technology which uses 120 to 350 Watts. This leap forward in technology makes LEDs more attractive when compared to old Mercury or Metal Halide technology. Where “green” funding is available, the reduction in institutional energy usage improves the return on investment.
Fast multi-channel imaging without pixel shift
An additional benefit of the pE-300white is that fluorophores can be viewed either individually or in combination, without filter cube changes. This makes it ideal for use with multi-band filter sets as the screening process can be simplified when fewer filter cubes are used. Independent control of the three LED wavebands allows control of the level of excitation of each fluorophore independently on a multi-stained sample, potentially removing the need for single-band filter sets altogether.
Direct fit or liquid light guide
There are two pE-300white configuration options: direct fit or liquid light guide. The Direct Fit variant delivers higher intensity and reduces the cost to buy and run thanks to fewer consumables. As a replacement to a metal halide source on a confocal microscope, the Liquid Light Guide model is particularly suitable for pre-aligning samples before scanning commences. In this way, photo bleaching of the sample can be minimised when LED illumination is used. More information on the available variants can be found under specifications .
Award winning technology
CoolLED’s pE-300 Series was the 2017 winner of the “Go Beyond Award” for “Excellence in sustainability in laboratory and other high technology facilities”. The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) runs a unique awards program honouring organisations, individuals, products, and projects that are advancing sustainable, high-performance facilities.
Performance
- Remote control via USB or TTL trigger
- Clean bright illumination across the spectrum: excites common fluorophores
- Three LEDs
- Instant on/off: No shutters required, no warm up or cool down
- Stable and repeatable: reliable and consistent results
- Precise intensity control in 1% steps (0-100%): no ND filters required
Convenience
- Specify for existing single and multi-band filter sets: no need to buy new filters
- Simple to fit, simple to use: no alignment, a once only adjustment
- Wide range of microscope adaptors: fits most microscopes
Plus all the benefits of LED technology
The system comprises a pE-300white Light Source, control pod, and power supply.
Control
Control pod for operation and access to settings and usage history.
Manual:
Manual control for instant on/off and intensity control in 1% steps from 0 – 100%
Individual bands can be selected/deselected and controlled independently as desired
Remote:
Via single TTL for on/off control of selected channels using a BNC connection on the light source.
Triggering speed <20 µs
Connectivity:
Remote via USB (B type) for imaging software control (see Imaging Software)
There are several variants available, as explained below:
Choose direct fit or liquid light guide
There are two pE-300white configuration options:
Direct Fit: Higher intensity is possible when directly connecting to a microscope. Select from a range of microscope adaptors which covers all current and most older models. A simple once-only adjustment will allow optimisation to the optical path of the microscope.
Liquid Light Guide: If there is a need to keep the source of illumination remote from the microscope. As a replacement to a metal halide source on a confocal microscope, the liquid light guide configuration is particularly suitable for pre-aligning samples before scanning commences. In this way, photo bleaching of the sample can be minimised when LED illumination is used. This requires a fixed 3 mm diameter liquid light guide. An optional pE-Universal Collimator can be specified in conjunction with a microscope adaptor if required. We now include a light source stand for the pE-300white Illumination Systems ordered for light guide delivery.
Choose single band or multi band variant
DAPI can be excited at either 365 nm or 400 nm and microscopes typically have a filter set which allows one or other of these wavelengths to be transmitted. To accommodate this, the pE-300white can be specified in one of two waveband configurations to match existing filter sets within the microscope.
A microscope which is populated with a number of single band (“SB”) filter sets will typically have DAPI excitation at 365 nm and a microscope with multi-band (“MB”) filter(s) has excitation at 400 nm. The user can specify the configuration which is appropriate for their microscope.
Specification
Power requirements
100-240 V a.c. 50/60 Hz, 2 A
Power consumption
| pE-300 Series | Light Source | At the wall (includes power supply unit consumption) |
| Standby | 2 W | 3.3 W |
| 1 band (GYR) | 20 W | 24.4 W |
| 2 bands (BLU & GYR) | 38 W | 44.3 W |
| Full white intensity (3 bands) | 46 W | 56.4 W |
Dimensions
pE-300white Light Source: 77 mm(w) x 186 mm(d) x 162 mm(h) – Weight 1.4 kg
pE-300white Control Pod: 88 mm(w) x 125mm(d) x 37 mm(h) – Weight 0.32 kg
pE-300white Power Supply: 167 mm(w) x 67 m(d) x 35 mm(h) – Weight 0.62 kg
pE-Universal Collimator: 44 mm(w) x 86 mm(d) x 44 mm(h) – Weight 0.17 kg
Environment & Safety
- Mercury-free & Laser-free
- Energy Efficient: 80% less power
- Long lifetime
- No bulb replacements
- Reduced risk of eye damage
- Quiet operation
- No special disposal regulations or issues
Warranty
System: 36 months
We find the system to be excellent, it gives us bright fluorescence and being able to switch the light on and off without having to worry about warming up/cooling down is a big advantage over our old system.
Dr Kat Millen , Lab Manager , University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
We’ve just bought the CoolLED pE-300white, the little brother to the pE-4000 (on the confocal, we don’t need the more powerful version), it’s really nice.
Dr Martin Spitaler, Head of Imaging Facility, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany
We are extremely happy with our CoolLED pE-300white System. Integration with our microscope was simple, and the robust system has never needed maintenance or alignment. I am particularly happy with the user interface as it is simple and intuitive.
David Inglis, Senior Lecturer, Dept of Engineering, Macquarie University, Australia
I just signed off on the installation of our new CoolLED pE-300white, fitted today on our Leica SP5 confocal. Happy to see the Hg bulb made obsolete! I love it and I’m sure the users will too.
Rosey van Driel, Manager for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Australia
The pE-300white has been a great asset for a core facility. It has meant less time spent changing bulbs (so less downtime to the user and more productive time for ourselves) and no longer worrying about users turning the light source on and off throughout the day as multiple users come and go. The controllable intensity has also proved highly popular with users who are now able to set the minimum light level required to scan their samples and minimise the risk of phototoxic damage and bleaching to their specimens.
Peter O'Toole, Head of Imaging & Cytometry - University of York
Our imaging facility houses a range of different confocal microscopes from major vendors such as Olympus, Zeiss and Nikon. All of these systems, including one purchased last year, were supplied with either a mercury arc burner or metal halide light source, used for observation of samples by eye prior to imaging using the confocal laser scanning system. These light sources suffer many shortcomings, such as the requirement to frequently replace expensive components (burners, light guides), the need for heating/cooling cycles when turning on and off, safety issues regarding risk of explosion and problems with the disposal of mercury-containing bulbs. For these reasons we decided to replace all of our confocal epi-illuminators with the CoolLED pE-300white. Users now have the benefit of immediate on/off with no requirement for warm-up/cool-down cycles, they can fine-tune the intensity of illumination to match their labelling, there is no risk of explosion and there are no problems with the disposal of mercury-containing components. We have found the CoolLED pE-300white to be highly reliable, simple to operate and work very well with all the standard fluorophores we use including DAPI, Alexa fluor 488, Alexa fluor 568. To my knowledge there have been no instances where the LED light source has been judged inferior to the illuminator it replaced, with most users appreciating the benefits. As a facility, the decision to replace our epi-illuminators with LEDs was seen as an investment that should be recovered within three years, with the projected lifetime of the LED illuminators considerably exceeding this time.
Simon Walker, Imaging Facility Manager - Babraham Institute
The CoolLED pE-300white is the perfect fluorescence illumination system for teaching bio-medical students. It is not only bright enough, but the ability to simultaneously illuminate 3 fluorescent proteins means students can observe structures with better context therefore achieving a more efficient learning outcome.
Urs Ziegler, Ph.D. Head of Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich
The lamp is on the microscope and is really impressive. A great product!
Viki Allan, Professor of Cell Biology, University of Manchester
The CoolLED pE-300white is a perfect fluorescence illumination system for fixed fluorescence samples. We used it on a Nikon E400 upright microscope with four fluorescence channels. With a triple-band filter, it can also be used for simultaneous illumination of three fluorescent proteins. As a system running in a microscope facility, it provides excellent flexibility, enough brightness in all bands to most samples, and is cost-effective, stable, trouble-free, and easy to operate
Dr. Yan Gu, Manager, Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Facility, Genome Damage and Stability Centre, University of Sussex
We are absolutely delighted with the pE-300white light source - it is fabulous. We use it as illumination on our Zeiss Axiskop to basically just identify the objects of desire for further analysis with laser scan of our confocal system. The CoolLED pE-300 has replaced our old and worn out mercury lamp - we love it for its simplicity in use, and even more for its really bright illumination. Before we had to guess the objects, now we can see them clearly. What a difference!
Prof. Dr. A. Preiss, University of Hohenheim
Our customer required a fluorescence light source for their new microscope and had enquired about a metal halide light source unaware of the CoolLED pE-300 Series. Once we had demonstrated the pE-300white they were immediately impressed with its capabilities. The ability to control the intensity of the light and the fact that it does not involve changing bulbs were major attractions. Through their work with mosquitos they hope to reduce the spread of diseases such as malaria. To do this they need to be able to clearly see which mosquitoes are fluorescing and the CoolLED pE-300white provides perfect excitation.
Alan Todd, Microscope Services Ltd, UK
Fluorescent skin image taken using a CoolLED pE-300white, Olympus BX51 40x objective and a DP71 colour camera
Fluorescent rat liver image taken using a CoolLED pE-300white, Olympus BX51 20x objective and a DP71 colour camera
Fluorescent bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells image taken using a CoolLED pE-300white, Nikon 20x objective and a black and white camera
Fluorescent kidney image taken using a CoolLED pE-300white, Olympus BX51 40x objective and a DP71 colour camera
Fluorescent rat liver image taken using a CoolLED pE-300white, Olympus BX51 40x objective and a DP71 colour camera
CoolLED Optimised filters
Cell Viability, Image Quality & Sustainability
Using Optogenetics to Analyse Neuronal Circuits
Adopting LED light sources for fluorescence microscopy can help laboratories become more sustainable, saving energy and reducing the carbon footprint when compared with using mercury lamps.
Our CoolLED pE-300 Series is also ACT label certified, which stands for accountability, consistency and transparency. Introduced by My Green Lab, this provides an easy way for scientists to measure and compare the environmental impact of a product by reviewing the product itself, its manufacturing process, packaging and disposal. Visit our environment page to find out more.
| Light Source | Emission Colour | Type | CoolLED LED | Chroma | Semrock | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pE-300white SB, pE-300white MB | Blue | Single | 365 or 400 | 49053 CoolLED DAPI | ||||
| pE-300white SB | Blue | Single | 365 | 39000 AT Dapi | 49000 ET Dapi | LED-DAPI-B | ||
| pE-300white SB | Cyan | Single | 460 | 49001 ET eCFP | 49013 ET Teal | LED-CFP-A | LED-mTFP-A | |
| pE-300white SB | Green | Single | 460 | 49002 ET eGFP | 39002 AT eGFP | GFP-4050B | GFP-A-Basic | |
| pE-300white SB | Green | Single | 460 | 49054 CoolLED GFP | ||||
| pE-300white SB | Orange | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49004 ET Cy3 | 49005 ET dsRed | TxRed-4040C | LED-TRITC-A | |
| pE-300white SB, pE-300white MB | Red | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49055 CoolLED mCherry #1 | 49055 CoolLED mCherry #2 | |||
| pE-300white SB | Red | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49008 ET mCherry | 39010 AT Tex. Red | YFP-2427B | LED-mCherry-A | |
| pE-300white SB | Far Red | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49006 ET CY5 | 39007 AT Cy5 | Cy5-4040C | ||
| pE-300white MB | Blue | Single | 400 | 49021 eBFP2 | 49028 ET Dapi 395 | LED-DAPI-B | ||
| pE-300white MB | Cyan | Single | 460 | 49001 ET eCFP | 49013 ET Teal | LED-CFP-A | LED-mTFP-A | |
| pE-300white MB | Green | Single | 460 | 49054 CoolLED GFP | ||||
| pE-300white MB | Green | Single | 460 | 49002 ET eGFP | 39002 AT eGFP | GFP-4050B | GFP-A-Basic | |
| pE-300white MB | Orange | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49004 ET Cy3 | 49005 ET dsRed | TxRed-4040C | LED-TRITC-A | |
| pE-300white MB | Red | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49008 ET mCherry | 39010 AT Tex. Red | YFP-2427B | LED-mCherry-A | |
| pE-300white MB | Far Red | Single | GYR (525-660) | 49006 ET CY5 | 39007 AT Cy5 | Cy5-4040C | ||
| pE-300white MB | Blue-Green-Red | Multiband | 400, 460, GYR (525-660) | 69401 – ET Triple Multi LED | LED-DA/FI/TX-A | |||
| pE-300white SB | Blue-Green-Red | Multiband | 365, 460, GYR (525-660) | 69401 – ET Triple Multi LED | LED-DA/FI/TX-A | |||
| pE-300white SB | Green-Red | Multiband | 460, GYR (525-660) | GFP/DsRed-A | ||||
| pE-300white SB | Green-Red | Multiband | 460, GYR (525-660) | 59022 ET eGFP/mCherry | FITC/TxRed-A | |||
| pE-300white MB | Blue-Green | Multiband | 400, 460 | 59001v2 ET DAPI/Green FISH | ||||
| pE-300white MB | Blue-Orange | Multiband | 400, GYR (525-660) | 59002v2 ET DAPI/Orange | ||||
| pE-300white MB | Blue-Green-Red | Pinkel | 400, 460, GYR (525-660) | 89084v2 ET DAPI/Green/Orange FISH | LED-DA/FI/TX-3X-B | |||
| pE-300white MB | Green-Red | Pinkel | 460, GYR (525-660) | 59222 ET eGFP/mCherry | GFP/DsRed-2X-A | |||
| pE-300white MB | Blue-Red | Multiband | 400, GYR (525-660) | 59003 v2 ET DAPI/Red FISH | ||||
| pE-300white SB | Blue-Green-Red | Pinkel | 365, 460, GYR (525-660) | LED-DA/FI/TX-3X-B | ||||
| pE-300white SB | Green-Red | Pinkel | 460, GYR (525-660) | 59022 ET eGFP/mCherry | GFP/DsRed-2X-A | |||
| pE-300white MB | Green-Red | Multiband | 460, GYR (525-660) | GFP/DsRed-A | ||||
| pE-300white MB | Green-Red | Multiband | 460, GYR (525-660) | 59022 ET eGFP/mCherry | FITC/TxRed-A | |||
| pE-300-W-D-SB-YYY-ZZ: | pE-300white direct fit Light Source, exchangeable microscope adaptor to customer-specified microscope, remote manual control pod, and power supply. Single band filter set configuration |
| pE-300-W-D-MB-YYY-ZZ: | pE-300white direct fit Light Source, exchangeable microscope adaptor to customer-specified microscope, remote manual control pod, and power supply. Multi band filter set configuration |
| pE-300-W-L-SB-ZZ: | pE-300white Light Source for use with 3 mm Liquid Light Guide. Single Band filter configuration. Includes light source, stand, control pod & power supply |
| pE-300-W-L-MB-ZZ: | pE-300white Light Source – Multi-Band. For use with 3 mm Liquid Light Guide. Multi band filter configuration. Includes light source, stand, control pod & power supply |
| pE-1906 | 1.5 m long, 3 mm diameter liquid light guide |
| pE-10400-YYY | pE-Universal collimator for use with a single liquid light guide. Includes customer-specified adaptor |
To specify microscope code (YYY) see Adaptors
To specify power cable (ZZ): 10 = Australia, 20 = Europe, 30 = UK, 40 = USA
More information is available on the Accessories tab.
pE-Universal Collimator
Liquid Light Guide
pE-6501
Adaptors
The CoolLED pE Driver is first required for software integration, and can be downloaded here.
CoolLED Proprietary ZEN Bridge software is available – Contact CoolLED for further information.
The award winning pE-300 Series is a range of LED Illumination Systems for Fluorescence, Optogenetics, Electrophysiology and high speed microscopy applications. It comprises 3 systems providing a solution that covers a range of everyday fluorescence microscopy; from the simple pE-300lite through the classic pE-300white to the highly controllable pE-300ultra.
The table below is a quick reference guide to the features offered by the pE-300 Series systems.
| Features | pE-300lite | pE-300white | pE-300ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad spectrum | |||
| Simple to fit and use | |||
| Instant on/off | |||
| No bulb replacement | |||
| Direct or Light Guide delivery options | |||
| Long lifetime | |||
| Stable & Repeatable - 10-100% intensity control | |||
| Filter set compatibility | |||
| Mercury free | |||
| Individual channel intensity control | |||
| Individual channel selection | |||
| Integration with imaging software | |||
| Global remote trigginer (TTL, microsecond) | |||
| Individual channel triggering (TTL, microsecond) | |||
| Removable inline filter holders | |||
| Sequence Runner |