Tailor-made for Electrophysiological Experiments; Axio Examiner Microscope System from Carl Zeiss

JENA/Germany, 27.05.2008.

Electrophysiological experiments can be performed with the Axio Examiner Fixed Stage Microscope from Carl Zeiss with considerably greater ease and with maximum flexibility and safety.

In the field of the neurosciences, Axio Examiner is particularly suitable for patch clamp experiments on nerve cells, examinations of brain sections and for measuring electrical signals on cells. Together with the ZEISS LSM 710 NLO Laser Scanning Microscope, it can be used as a multiphoton system. The connection of an AxioCam camera and the use of the AxioVision 4.7 software with a special physiology module make the quantitative evaluation of typical experiments very comfortable and convenient.

Axio Examiner has been designed so that complex experimental setups, e.g. with various stages, micropipettes or light sources are easy to prepare or modify and safe to use. This is ensured by the extremely stable stand design and by the slim design in the front area of the system, providing the user with optimum access to the specimens. There is also scope for configuration in the specimen area and in the selection of the contrasting method. In addition, motorized functions can also be remote-controlled via the docking station or the AxioVision software.

For configuring his or her specific Axio Examiner microscope system, the user has four upper parts, two lower parts and a large number of different components and motorization options at his or her disposal. Numerous interfaces allow flexible adaptation to the respective requirements, particularly if a system is being used by several people. The objective changer can be just as easily removed as the stage carrier and the condenser carrier. The specimen area is flexible and, depending on the system configuration, is extendable to a free working distance of up to 100 millimeters so that electrophysiological processes can be conveniently examined not only on living tissue sections and organs, but also on whole organisms. Settings can be changed without difficulty during the experiment as all relevant controls are arranged on the front of the system.

The optical design developed for Axio Examiner also offers maximum optical quality for transmitted light techniques and for advanced fluorescence applications. With the W N-ACHROPLAN and W Plan-APOCHROMAT series, water immersion objectives specially developed to meet the requirements of neuroscience are available for visible light and infrared. Various contrasting methods such as Dodt gradient contrast are easy to integrate. Depending on the specimen, this makes it possible to achieve the highest resolution, the best contrast and optimum structure recognition in deeper tissue layers.

In all motorized functions, the motors are automatically deactivated after the target position has been reached. In addition, the motors can be actively grounded. This guarantees that any existing voltage can also drain off.

The new Aquastop for condensers effectively protects the system against overflowing liquids.

Axio Examiner offers flexible possibilities for additional magnification, e.g. with the double camera tube featuring an integrated continuous zoom system or a special additional magnification turret with fixed magnification steps.

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