LiteTIRF Platform

LiteTIRF Platform

Super-Resolution Microscopy for Everybody

Super-Resolution Microscopy for Everybody

LiteTIRF-header

The Motivation

The Motivation

Novel super-resolution techniques enable researchers to perform fluorescence microscopy at unprecidented spatial resolution, allowing the visualisation of inidivual protein-complexes in a single cell. New developments with larger and more complex microscope systems are pushing this frontier every day. 

Novel super-resolution techniques enable researchers to perform fluorescence microscopy at unprecidented spatial resolution, allowing the visualisation of inidivual protein-complexes in a single cell. New developments with larger and more complex microscope systems are pushing this frontier every day. 

The Problem

The Problem

This leaves behind reasearchers who can not effort these expensives machines. Price tags for commercial microscope systems can reach up a million, usually hundreds of thousands.

This leaves behind reasearchers who can not effort these expensives machines. Price tags for commercial microscope systems can reach up a million, usually hundreds of thousands.

The Idea

The Idea

From the start we wanted to craft an effordable, easy-to-use microscope platform with high performance and low maintenance. Replication should be hassle-free and without the need of an in-depth experise in optics.

From the start we wanted to craft an effordable, easy-to-use microscope platform with high performance and low maintenance. Replication should be hassle-free and without the need of an in-depth experise in optics.

Challenges

Challenges

Challenges

Economic Design for High Performance

Economic Design for High Performance

Economic Design for High Performance

LiteTIRF-Sample

Stability

Stability

Compact design provides a rigid and low-maintenance basis.
We knew to pay special attention to the sample stage in combination with the objective mount. External vibration can be damped with absorbing rubber-feet.

Compact design provides a rigid and low-maintenance basis.
We knew to pay special attention to the sample stage in combination with the objective mount. External vibration can be damped with absorbing rubber-feet.

Compact design provides a rigid and low-maintenance basis.
We knew to pay special attention to the sample stage in combination with the objective mount. External vibration can be damped with absorbing rubber-feet.

Flexibility

Flexibility

Research varies from project to project. With a layer-by-layer design, we could enable scientists to modify the LiteTIRF for their specific needs. Optical cage systems facilitate easy changes to optical paths.

Research varies from project to project. With a layer-by-layer design, we could enable scientists to modify the LiteTIRF for their specific needs. Optical cage systems facilitate easy changes to optical paths.

Components

Components

We envisioned the LiteTIRF as affordable as possible. Therefore we wanted to use mainly off-the-shelf components. To achieve high performance, we screened for components such as cameras and lasers while still balancing the total budget.

We envisioned the LiteTIRF as affordable as possible. Therefore we wanted to use mainly off-the-shelf components. For high performance, we screened for components such as cameras and lasers while still balancing the total budget.

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Community

Community

Reactions

Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry twitters about the DIY LiteTIRF platform.
Altmetric, the metric for scientific impact rates the LiteTIRF publication as on in the top 5% of all publications rated by Altmetric in research output.
Twitter post from Optical Nanoscopy twitters about the LiteTIRF Platform.
Ralf Jungmann presents the LiteTIRF at the MiFoBio 2018 School.
After the LiteTIRF was published on ChemPhysChem as a VIP article, Chemistry news highlights the LiteTIRF platform.
Lab on the Cheap highlights the LiteTIRF platform as their first open-source TIRF microscope.
Christophe Leterrier presented the LiteTIRF platform on Twitter.

Supervision

Ralf Jungmann

Technical and Experimental Help

Thomas Schlichthaerle, Johannes Woehrstein, Florian Schueder, Maximilian T. Strauss, Heinrich Grabmayr