JP2006162790A - Total reflection fluorescence illuminator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a total reflection fluorescence illuminator, capable of rapidly irradiating only an optional designated area from an acquired image with total reflection fluorescence illuminating light, optionally varying the intensity of irradiated light and added to a microscope. <P>SOLUTION: A laser beam is condensed on the pupil surface 5a of an objective 5, the entire image of a sample S is acquired by setting the sample S to a total reflection fluorescence illuminated state, and then an area to be observed on the entire image of the sample S, which is acquired, in advance, by stopping the radiation of the laser beam, is designated, and the position of a field stop and the size of the diameter of an aperture are determined by a motor-driven field stop 43, in order to irradiate only the designated area with the illuminating light, and the sample S is re-irradiated with the laser beam. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a total reflection fluorescent illumination device added to a microscope apparatus capable of selectively acquiring a confocal image (LSM image) by a scanning laser microscope and a total reflection fluorescence image (evanescent fluorescence image) by a fluorescence microscope. .

  Recently, functional analysis of living cells has been actively performed. In the functional analysis of these living cells, a fluorescence microscope that obtains an evanescent fluorescence image from the cell membrane and its vicinity has attracted attention as a means for observing the function of the cell membrane.

  As an apparatus employing such evanescent illumination, for example, an illumination switching device disclosed in Patent Document 1 that enables switching between total reflection fluorescence observation and normal fluorescence observation is known.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of such an illumination switching device. The two laser light sources 201 and 202 are provided with electric shutters 203 and 204 typified by a liquid crystal shutter or AOTF at the emission end, The electrical shutters 203 and 204 are controlled to be opened and closed by a shutter controller 205 for switching between total reflection fluorescence observation and normal fluorescence observation. An optical fiber 206 is connected to the electrical shutter 203, and an optical fiber 207 is connected to the electrical shutter 204.

  A collimating lens 209, a field stop 210, and a condensing lens 211, which are illumination optical systems, are provided on the optical axis O ′ of the first optical transmission unit formed by the optical fiber 206, and a dichroic mirror at the intersection with the observation optical path. 212, and the optical axis folded back by the dichroic mirror 212 coincides with the optical axis O of the observation optical path, and the objective lens 213 is disposed on the observation optical path. A cover glass 215 on which the specimen 214 is placed is disposed. Thereby, the laser light emitted from the first light transmission unit forms a laser spot at the center of the pupil plane of the objective lens 213 by the action of the collimating lens 209 and the condenser lens 211, and the laser light emitted from the objective lens 213 is the specimen. Illuminate 214 with normal fluorescence observation illumination.

  Further, the optical fiber 207 constitutes a second light transmission unit by being combined with a parallel movable total reflection microprism 208, and the laser light emitted from the second light transmission unit is collimated by a collimating lens 209, A laser spot is formed at a position (a position determined by the position of the total reflection microprism 208) that is a predetermined distance away from the center of the pupil plane of the objective lens 213 by the action of the condenser lens 211, and the laser beam emitted from the objective lens 213 is a specimen 214. Since this is incident at a critical angle or more, the total reflection fluorescence observation illumination is obtained.

  On the other hand, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a microscope apparatus that can selectively acquire confocal images (LSM images) and total reflection fluorescent images (evanescent images) is also known.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of such a microscope apparatus. A light source 300 includes a laser light source 301, a condenser lens 302, and an optical fiber 303. Light emitted from the laser light source 301 is transmitted through the optical fiber 303. Via the scanning unit 310. The scan unit 310 includes a collimating lens 311, a dichroic mirror 312, a scanner 313 such as a galvano mirror disposed on a transmission optical path formed by these, an absorption filter 314 disposed on a reflection optical path of the dichroic mirror 312, and a confocal pin. A light receiving element 317 such as a hole 315, a condenser lens 316, and a photomultiplier is provided. Laser light (excitation light) is two-dimensionally scanned on the sample 325 by the scanner 313, and weak fluorescence emitted from the sample 325 is received by the light receiving element 317. It comes to detect. An imaging lens 321, an objective lens 322, and a specimen 325 on the stage 324 of the microscope main body 323 are disposed on the optical path of the laser light deflected by the scanner 313, and further, between the scanner 313 and the objective lens 322. Lens storage means 330 is provided. In the lens storage unit 330, the pupil projection lens 331 as the first projection optical system, and the objective image projection lens group 332 and the dichroic mirror 333 as the second projection optical system can be switched on the optical path of the laser light deflected by the scanner 313. When the first projection optical system is inserted on the optical path, normal fluorescent illumination (LSM illumination) is inserted, and when the second projection optical system is inserted, total reflection fluorescent illumination (evanescent illumination) is obtained. In the case of total reflection fluorescent illumination, the fluorescence emitted from the specimen 325 is finally received by the high-sensitivity CCD camera 340 to construct an image.
JP 2004-295122 A JP 2003-307682 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, first, the field stop 210 is fully opened, the whole specimen is observed by using the normal fluorescent illumination or the total reflection fluorescent illumination, and the whole image of the specimen 214 is captured. In order to apply illumination light only to the details to be observed on the specimen 214, it is necessary to adjust the position of the field stop 210 and the size of the aperture diameter to observe the details on the specimen 214. . However, since the fading of fluorescent specimens generally proceeds in proportion to the irradiation time, a series of these artificial operations must be performed in a short time and accurately. If this happens, the fading of the specimen will progress, and in the worst case, the specimen will not be usable.

  In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the NA of the laser beam emitted from the optical fiber 303 and the focal position of the collimating lens 311 in the scan unit 310 are constant, the beam diameter incident on the scanner 313 cannot be varied. . In the case of total reflection fluorescence observation, the illumination field is determined by the NA of the spot focused on the pupil plane of the objective lens 322 and the focal length of the objective lens 322. In other words, the illumination field depends on the beam diameter of the laser beam and the magnification of the objective lens 322. Since the size of the illumination field is determined, in the case of Patent Document 2 in which the field stop is not provided, the size of the illumination field can be varied while the same objective lens 322 is used, or the light density per unit area of the illumination range can be changed. It was impossible to make it variable.

  Furthermore, in the case of FLIP, FRAP, or the like, which is a method for observing the movement of an object in a cell using fluorescence discoloration, it is necessary to instantaneously discolor only a certain region on the specimen. Measures are taken to ensure powerful excitation light by combining an output laser light source. However, since the high-power laser light source is large in size, expensive, and consumes a large amount of power, the apparatus cannot be compactly configured, cannot be provided as an inexpensive apparatus, and has a high running cost. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to quickly irradiate a total reflection fluorescent illumination light only on an arbitrary designated region from an acquired image, and to add to a microscope capable of arbitrarily changing the intensity of the irradiation light. An object of the present invention is to provide a reflected fluorescent lighting device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the laser beam is focused on the pupil plane of the objective lens, and is designated on the observation image in the total reflection fluorescent illumination apparatus attached to the microscope capable of performing the total reflection fluorescent illumination on the sample. An illumination area control means for irradiating illumination light only to the area is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the illumination area control means is a field stop capable of controlling the size and position, and the field stop is adapted to an area designated by the observation image. It is characterized by controlling the size and position.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the illumination area control means includes a first optical means for varying the NA of light condensed on the pupil plane of the objective lens, and an objective lens. The second optical means for tilting the optical axis of the light incident on the pupil plane, wherein the first optical means and the second optical means are controlled in accordance with a region designated by the observation image. It is said.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the first optical means is a zoom optical system.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 3, wherein the second optical means is a rotatable parallel flat glass.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the galvanometer mirror for scanning light in a plane, and the relay for making the galvanometer mirror and the specimen have a conjugate positional relationship. An optical system and optical path switching means capable of switching between scanning laser microscope observation and total reflection fluorescent illumination observation by inserting / removing an optical element on a common optical path, and fixing the galvanometer mirror at an arbitrary angle Thus, the total reflection fluorescent illumination range in the depth direction can be varied.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the mode according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the illumination area control means defines an irradiation area with a constant light density per unit area of the illumination range during observation of total reflection fluorescent illumination. And a means for increasing the light density and making it possible to select a mode for defining an irradiation area.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the total reflection fluorescent illumination device attached to the microscope capable of condensing the laser light on the pupil plane of the objective lens and subjecting the sample to total reflection fluorescent illumination, the laser beam is applied to the pupil plane of the objective lens. The first optical means for changing the NA of the condensed light is provided, and the size of the region for total reflection illumination is varied by adjusting the first optical means.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8, wherein the first optical means is a zoom optical system provided in an illumination optical path.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 8, further comprising a second optical system for inclining the optical axis of the light incident on the pupil plane of the objective lens, wherein the irradiation area of the sample that is totally reflected is the optical axis. It is characterized in that it can be varied in a vertical plane.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the total reflection fluorescence illumination apparatus attached to the microscope which can irradiate the total reflection fluorescence illumination light only to arbitrary designated area | regions from an acquired image rapidly, and can change the intensity | strength of irradiation light arbitrarily can be provided. .

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the total reflection fluorescent illumination device of the present invention is applied to an inverted microscope device.

  In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a laser light source. A condensing lens 12 is disposed on an optical path of a laser beam (laser light) emitted from the laser light source 11, and an optical fiber 13 is incident on a focal position of the condensing lens 12. An end 13a is disposed. The condensing lens 12 condenses the laser beam from the laser light source 11 and enters the incident end 13 a of the optical fiber 13.

  On the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the emission end 13b of the optical fiber 13, a collimating lens unit 14 constituting an illumination area control means is disposed. The collimating lens unit 14 includes a collimating lens 14a, an afocal zoom lens 14b as the first optical means, and a beam shifter as the second optical means along the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the emitting end 13b of the optical fiber 13. 14c is arranged. The collimating lens 14a makes the laser beam emitted from the optical fiber 13 parallel light. The afocal zoom lens 14b is composed of a zoom optical system having at least two lenses having the optical axis together with the collimating lens 14a, and will be described later by moving these lenses in the optical axis direction in FIG. The NA of the laser beam condensed on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5 is made variable. The beam shifter 14c is made of one or more plane-parallel plate glasses, and can move the optical axis after the afocal zoom lens 14b in a two-dimensional direction by moving the optical axis around the optical axis in the directions b and c. The optical axis of the laser beam condensed on the pupil plane 5a of the lens 5 can be tilted with respect to the normal line of the pupil plane 5a.

  The collimating lens unit 14 is attached to the scan unit 20. In the scan unit 20, a dichroic mirror 21 is disposed on the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the collimating lens unit 14. The dichroic mirror 21 has a characteristic that reflects the laser beam from the collimating lens unit 14 as excitation light and transmits fluorescence from the specimen S described later.

  A galvano mirror unit 22, a pupil projection lens 23, and an imaging lens 24 are disposed on the reflected light path of the laser beam as viewed from the laser light source 11 side of the dichroic mirror 21. The galvanometer mirror unit 22 scans light in a plane in a two-dimensional direction (XY direction), and has two galvanometer mirrors (not shown) that can rotate. In this case, the galvanometer mirror unit 22 can deflect the laser beam only in the one-dimensional direction.

  A confocal lens 25 and a confocal pinhole 26 constituting a focus detection unit are disposed on the transmitted light path of the dichroic mirror 21 as viewed from the sample S side. The confocal pinhole 26 is disposed at the focal position of the confocal lens 25 and has a configuration in which the aperture diameter can be changed by an electric mechanism (not shown). A dichroic mirror 27 is disposed on the optical path of the confocal pinhole 26. The dichroic mirror 27 branches the optical path for each wavelength, and has a characteristic of reflecting one wavelength and transmitting the other wavelength.

  On the reflected light path of the dichroic mirror 27, a barrier filter 28a and a detector 29a for detecting weak light typified by a photomultiplier are arranged, and in the transmitted light path, a barrier filter 28b, a photomultiplier, etc. The detector 29b for detecting the weak light represented by is arranged.

  An illumination method switching device 30 is disposed on the optical path between the pupil projection lens 23 and the imaging lens 24. In this illumination method switching device 30, a mirror cube 31 for guiding light to a total reflection illumination optical system 40 to be described later is detachably provided on the optical path.

  On the reflected light path of the mirror cube 31 of the illumination method switching device 30, a total reflection illumination optical system 40 is disposed. In the total reflection illumination optical system 40, a relay lens 41a and a folding mirror group 42 are arranged on the reflection optical path of the mirror cube 31, and the relay lens 41b and other illumination area control means are arranged on the optical path folded by the folding mirror group 42. The electric field stop 43 is arranged. As a result, the laser beam reflected from the mirror cube 31 enters the folding mirror group 42 via the relay lens 41 a, and the laser beam folded by the folding mirror group 42 passes through the relay lens 41 b and the electric field stop 43. Then, the light enters the mirror cube 31 again. Here, the relay lenses 41a and 41b combine the pupil projection lens 23 and the imaging lens 24 so that the proximity galvano position of the galvano mirror unit 22 (intermediate position of the galvano mirror) has a conjugate positional relationship with the sample S. It is. The folding mirror group 42 is movable in the optical axis direction (direction d in the figure) of the relay lenses 41a and 41b on a guide mechanism having a drive source (not shown). The electric field stop 43 is disposed at a position conjugate with the sample S, can be moved in a two-dimensional direction by a drive source (not shown), and can have a variable opening diameter.

  The scan unit 20 is connected to a microscope body, here an inverted microscope body 1. A cube cassette 4 in the inverted microscope body 1 is arranged on the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the imaging lens 24 of the scan unit 20. The cube cassette 4 stores a total reflection mirror 4a and a dichroic mirror 4b.

  These total reflection mirror 4a and dichroic mirror 4b are selectively inserted into the optical path. Among these, the total reflection mirror 4a is inserted into the optical path during observation with a scanning laser microscope (this state is shown in the drawing), and the laser beam emitted from the imaging lens 24 is sample S. And the light from the sample S is reflected again to the scan unit 20 side. The dichroic mirror 4b is inserted into the optical path during total reflection fluorescence observation, and reflects the laser beam emitted from the imaging lens 24 to the sample S side and transmits the light from the sample S. have.

  An objective lens 5 is disposed in the reflection optical path of the total reflection mirror 4a (dichroic mirror 4b) of the cube cassette 4.

  A fluorescently labeled sample S is disposed at the focal point position of the objective lens 5. The sample S is fixed to a cover glass 2 attached to a petri dish (not shown) disposed on the stage 3. In this case, the petri dish is filled with a liquid for protecting the specimen S, for example, water. In addition, in order to perform evanescent illumination, the total reflection angle is increased between the objective lens 5 and the cover glass 2 to perform fluorescence observation with evanescent illumination at a high NA and also to perform fluorescence observation with scanning laser microscope illumination. Is filled with immersion oil (not shown).

  On the optical path transmitted through the dichroic mirror 4b of the cube cassette 4, an optical path folding mirror 6 is disposed. On the optical path folded back by the optical path folding mirror 6, a lens barrel 7 having a built-in imaging lens 7a is disposed.

  A CCD camera 8 is provided on the lens barrel 7. The CCD camera 8 has an imaging surface 8a, and is arranged so that the imaging surface 8a is located at the focal point of the imaging lens 7a.

  A monitor 9 is connected to the CCD camera 8. The monitor 9 displays an image captured by the CCD camera 8.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes an illumination area control device as a control means, and this illumination area control device 50 is electrically connected to the monitor 9, the laser light source 11, the collimating lens unit 14, the galvanometer mirror unit 22, and the total reflection illumination optical system 40. Control of the afocal zoom lens 14b and the beam shifter 14c in the collimating lens unit 14 in order to irradiate illumination light only to a designated area on the monitor 9, and a galvano mirror (not shown) of the galvano mirror unit 22 in the scan unit 20 The control and control of the electric field stop 43 and the folding mirror group 42 in the total reflection illumination optical system 40 are performed. In addition, a switch 51 is provided for selecting each mode of a normal total reflection fluorescence observation mode (hereinafter referred to as a normal mode) and a mode for observation by applying a light stimulus such as FLIP or FRAP (hereinafter referred to as a light stimulation mode). .

  Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

  First, the case where total reflection fluorescence observation by total reflection fluorescence illumination is performed will be described.

  In this case, the mirror cube 31 of the illumination method switching device 30 is arranged on the optical path, and the dichroic mirror 4b in the cube cassette 4 is arranged on the optical path.

  From this state, when a laser beam acting as excitation light is emitted from the laser light source 11, the laser beam passes through the condenser lens 12 and enters the incident end 13 a of the optical fiber 13. The laser beam incident on the incident end 13 a passes through the optical fiber 13, and is diverged from the emitting end 13 b of the optical fiber 13 and is guided to the collimating lens unit 14.

  The laser beam guided to the collimating lens unit 14 is converted into parallel light by the collimating lens 14a, and passes through the afocal zoom lens 14b and the beam shifter 14c. At this time, the laser beam is converted into a beam diameter of an appropriate size by the afocal zoom lens 14b, and the optical axis is shifted in accordance with the angle of the beam shifter 14c, and is guided to the scan unit 20.

  The laser beam guided into the scan unit 20 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 21 as excitation light and then enters the galvano mirror unit 22. In this case, the galvanometer mirror unit 22 fixes a galvanometer mirror (not shown) at an arbitrary angle during total reflection fluorescence observation.

  The laser beam emitted from the galvanometer mirror unit 22 is transmitted through the pupil projection lens 23, enters the illumination method switching device 30, is reflected by the mirror cube 31, and is guided to the total reflection illumination optical system 40.

  The laser beam guided into the total reflection illumination optical system 40 passes through the relay lens 41 a, is reflected by the folding mirror group 42, passes through the other relay lens 41 b, and enters the electric field stop 43. In this case, by adjusting the folding mirror group 42 in the optical axis direction of the relay lens 41a (41b) by a guide mechanism (not shown), the specimen S and the galvano mirror unit 22 are adjusted to have a conjugate positional relationship, The spot of the laser beam is always correctly connected to the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5. The electric field stop 43 is set to a fully open state.

  The light that has passed through the electric field stop 43 is reflected again by the mirror cube 31 in the illumination method switching device 30 and returned to the optical axis that connects the pupil projection lens 23 and the imaging lens 24. The light passes through and is guided to the cube cassette 4.

  In the cube cassette 4, since the dichroic mirror 4b is arranged on the optical path, the laser beam guided to the cube cassette 4 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 4b and is condensed near the periphery of the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5. .

  The laser beam condensed on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5 is emitted as parallel light from the objective lens 5, and is irradiated on the sample side interface of the cover glass 2 from a diagonal direction at a predetermined angle. This angle is set to an angle at which the laser beam causes total reflection at the sample-side interface. At this time, a small part of the laser beam oozes out from the sample side interface of the cover glass 2 to the sample S side. The light that exudes from this boundary is evanescent light, and the amount of exudation in the depth direction of the sample S is about the wavelength of the light source.

  As a result, the sample S is excited by the evanescent light that oozes out to a slight region of several hundred nm or less on the sample side interface of the cover glass 2 and emits fluorescence.

  Fluorescence emitted from the specimen S is captured by the objective lens 5, then transmitted through the dichroic mirror 4 b in the cube cassette 4, reflected by the optical path folding mirror 6, and imaged by the CCD camera 8 through the imaging lens 7 a. An image of the sample S is formed on the surface 8a. This image is photoelectrically converted by the CCD camera 8 and displayed on the monitor 9.

  The illumination area control device 50 captures the entire image of the specimen S displayed on the monitor 9 and controls the laser light source 11 to stop emitting the laser beam as soon as the capturing is completed.

  Next, the case of using in the normal mode will be described.

  In this case, the switch 51 of the illumination area control device 50 is set to the normal mode. Next, a range to be observed is designated from the whole image of the sample S displayed on the monitor 9. In this case, the designated area is marked on the monitor 9, and the center coordinates of the mark area and the size of the circle circumscribing the mark area are read out from the pixel coordinates of the mark area. Next, the pixel coordinates at the center of the mark area are converted into position information of the electric field stop 43, and the size of the circle circumscribing the mark area is converted into opening size information of the electric field stop 43. Then, the electric field stop 43 is controlled based on these pieces of information, and the position of the electric field stop 43 is automatically adjusted so that the center of the selected area and the center of the electric field stop 43 are conjugated, and only the designated range is illuminated. The size of the aperture diameter of the electric field stop 43 is set to a possible size.

  In this state, when a laser beam is generated again from the laser light source 11, the specimen S comes to be totally reflected fluorescently illuminated through the objective lens 5 in the same manner as described above. Correspondingly, since the position of the electric field stop 43 and the size of the aperture diameter are set, only the sample S corresponding to the designated area is totally reflected fluorescently illuminated, and the fluorescence from the designated area passes through the imaging lens 7a. The image is picked up by the CCD camera 8 and displayed on the monitor 9.

  In such total reflection fluorescence observation, when the objective lens 5 is switched to one having a different magnification, the position of the pupil plane 5a may move. In such a case, the folding mirror group 42 is moved in the optical axis direction of the relay lens 41a (41b) to change the optical path length so that the laser beam spot is correctly connected to the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5. Adjust to.

  In the above description, the galvano mirror (not shown) of the galvano mirror unit 22 is fixed at an arbitrary angle. However, the galvano mirror angle is changed to adjust the one-dimensional deflection direction of the laser beam and By changing the angle of the laser beam incident on the specimen side interface of the cover glass 2 from the lens 5, the total reflection fluorescent illumination range can be changed in the depth direction.

  Next, a case where the light stimulation mode is used will be described.

  In this case, the switch 51 of the illumination area control device 50 is set to the light stimulation mode.

  Next, a range in which a light stimulus is to be applied is designated from the entire image of the specimen S displayed on the monitor 9. In this case, the optical axis is moved in a two-dimensional direction by the beam shifter 14c in the collimating lens unit 14, and the center of intensity of the laser beam is adjusted to coincide with the center of the designated region, and the objective lens 5 is adjusted by the afocal zoom lens 14b. By adjusting the NA of the laser beam focused on the pupil surface 5a, the laser beam is adjusted so that only the selected range can be illuminated.

  In this state, when a laser beam is generated from the laser light source 11, the specimen S is totally reflected fluorescently illuminated through the objective lens 5 in the same manner as described above. Correspondingly, the optical axis adjustment by the beam shifter 14c and the NA adjustment of the laser beam by the afocal zoom lens 14b are performed, so that only the sample S corresponding to the designated region is totally reflected fluorescently illuminated (photostimulated). become. In this case, the entire amount of the laser beam introduced from the optical fiber 13 is irradiated onto the specimen S regardless of the size of the illumination area, so that the pole portion (small area) of the specimen S can be irradiated with high intensity.

  After that, if the setting of the beam shifter 14c and the afocal zoom lens 14b is returned to the state where the entire image of the sample S can be observed on the monitor 9, and further, the image obtained by performing the total reflection fluorescence illumination on the entire sample S is acquired, it corresponds to the light stimulus. The state of the reaction to be observed can be observed.

  By the way, in the functional analysis of a living cell, in addition to the observation of the whole cell described above, there is a case where one molecule in the cell is further observed. In such a case, the optical axis is moved in a two-dimensional direction by the beam shifter 14c in the collimating lens unit 14, and the center of intensity of the laser beam is adjusted to coincide with the observation target position. In this state, the afocal zoom lens The illumination area is narrowed by changing the NA of the laser beam focused on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5 by 14b.

  In this way, the illumination density of the light at the observation target position on the specimen S with the narrowed illumination area can be significantly increased, and the minute area can be illuminated with high intensity, so that one molecule in the cell can be observed. . In addition to this, when the optical density is increased using a zoom optical system, it can be used not only for light stimulation but also for obtaining a brighter total reflection fluorescence observation image. Next, a case where confocal fluorescence observation is performed with scanning laser microscope illumination will be described.

  In this case, the mirror cube 31 in the illumination method switching device 30 is retracted from the optical path, and the total reflection mirror 4a in the cube cassette 4 is arranged on the optical path.

  In this state, when a laser beam is emitted from the laser light source 11, the laser beam passes through the condenser lens 12, enters the incident end 13a of the optical fiber 13, passes through the optical fiber 13, and exits 13b. Then, the light is diverged and guided to the collimating lens unit 14.

  The laser beam guided to the collimating lens unit 14 is converted into parallel light by the collimating lens 14 a, passes through the afocal zoom lens 14 b and the beam shifter 14 c, and enters the galvanometer mirror unit 22. The laser beam guided into the scan unit 20 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 21, enters the galvanometer mirror unit 22, is two-dimensionally scanned in a plane, passes through the pupil projection lens 23 and the imaging lens 24, and is totally reflected. The sample S is reflected by the mirror 4 a and irradiated onto the sample S through the objective lens 5.

  Fluorescence emitted from the specimen S is captured by the objective lens 5, then reflected by the total reflection mirror 4 a in the cube cassette 4, and dichroic via the imaging lens 24, pupil projection lens 23, and galvanometer mirror unit 22. Guided to the mirror 21. Then, after passing through the dichroic mirror 21, the light is condensed on the confocal pinhole 26 by the confocal lens 25, and only the fluorescence emitted from the focal plane of the objective lens 5 passes through the confocal pinhole 26. The fluorescence that has passed through the confocal pinhole 26 is branched into two optical paths by the dichroic mirror 27, and the fluorescence that has passed through the dichroic mirror 27 is blocked by the detector 29a because the excitation light reflected on the surface of the sample S is blocked by the barrier filter 28a. The fluorescence received and reflected by the dichroic mirror 27 is received by the detector 29b after the excitation light reflected on the surface of the sample S is blocked by the barrier filter 28b. The fluorescence received by the detectors 29a and 29b is photoelectrically converted into an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of received light and transferred to an image processing device (not shown). In the image processing apparatus, a confocal fluorescent image of the specimen S by illumination with a scanning laser microscope is constructed from these electric signals transferred continuously.

  Therefore, in this way, once the laser beam is focused on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5 and the sample S is totally reflected fluorescently illuminated, the entire image of the sample S is once acquired and the entire image acquisition is completed. The irradiation of the laser beam is stopped, the region to be observed and measured is designated on the whole image of the specimen S acquired previously, and the position is determined by the electric field stop 43 in order to irradiate the illumination light only to this designated region. The size of the aperture diameter is determined, and then the sample is irradiated again with the laser beam. When the range to be observed on the sample S is designated, the illumination area control device 50 corresponds to the designated area. Since the position of the electric field stop 43 and the size of the aperture diameter can be automatically set, a series of operations for performing the total reflection fluorescent illumination only on a desired region on the specimen S can be quickly performed, and the fluorescence of the specimen S can be changed. fading It can be kept to a minimum.

  In addition, since the normal mode and the light stimulation mode can be selected only by switching the switch 51 provided in the illumination area control device 50, a single device can cope with various observation methods, and thus a large footprint is not required. The entire microscope system can be configured compactly.

  Further, by adjusting the afocal zoom lens 14b and changing the NA of the light condensed on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5, the size of the illumination field of the total reflection fluorescent illumination can be changed. By adjusting the beam shifter 14c and tilting the optical axis of the light incident on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5, the illumination field of the total reflection fluorescent illumination can be moved in the plane.

In the case of the light stimulation mode or the observation of one molecule in the cell, the size and center position of the total reflection illumination area are arbitrarily adjusted by the afocal zoom lens 14b and the beam shifter 14c, so that the aperture center of the electric field stop 43 can be adjusted. The illumination area can be adjusted in the same way as moving and changing the aperture diameter. Further, unlike the field stop type, since the output of the laser light source 11 is not wasted, the light density per unit area can be increased as the illumination area is reduced. The ratio can be improved. This also means that it is not necessary to use a high-power laser as the laser light source 11, and a high-power laser is generally expensive and has a high running cost. Therefore, it is necessary to use a high-power laser. The lack of maintenance costs also has the effect of providing a low-cost device.

  On the other hand, without changing the afocal zoom lens 14b, the movement of the aperture center and the aperture diameter of the electric field stop 43 are changed, so that the NA of the light condensed on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5 is not changed. A total reflection illumination range can be specified. In this case, the light density per unit area can be kept constant in the total reflection illumination range. Accordingly, since the degree of fluorescence fading does not depend on the size of the illumination range, a plurality of regions having different sizes can be quantitatively observed. This also has the effect of improving the reliability of the measurement result in an application that performs measurement based on the amount of fluorescence emitted.

  Furthermore, by combining a scanning laser microscope and a field-reflective built-in type total reflection fluorescent illumination device, the total reflection illumination range in the plane direction can be determined by the position of the field stop and the size of the aperture in the galvanometer mirror unit 22. By fixing the angle of the galvanometer mirror at an arbitrary position, the total reflection fluorescent illumination range in the depth direction of the total reflection illumination can be varied, so that a compact device can be tailored.

  Furthermore, the total reflection fluorescent illumination is performed only in the designated area on the specimen S by adjusting the mode for performing the total reflection fluorescent illumination only on the designated area on the specimen S by the electric field stop 43 and the afocal zoom lens 14b and the beam shifter 14c. Since the mode can be selected, it is possible to change the light density per unit area of the illumination light irradiated to the designated region, and it is possible to easily use the quantitative observation (measurement) and the qualitative observation (measurement).

  Further, in confocal fluorescence observation by scanning laser microscope illumination, when the laser beam diameter is small with respect to the pupil diameter of the objective lens 5, the laser spot condensed on the specimen S by the objective lens 5 becomes large. When the lateral resolution of the image is deteriorated and the laser beam diameter is larger than the pupil diameter of the objective lens 5, vignetting of the laser beam in the objective lens 5 occurs, so that the output of the laser light source 11 can be fully utilized. May not be possible. However, by making the pupil diameter of the objective lens 5 coincide with the laser beam diameter by the afocal zoom lens 14b, an effect that these problems can be avoided also in LSM observation is produced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the implementation stage, it can change variously in the range which does not change the summary. For example, the beam shifter 14c of the collimating lens unit 14 is not necessarily required, and a mechanism for moving the stage 3 by electric power is adopted, and the illumination field is fixed instead of moving to an area selected from the entire image of the specimen S. A method of moving the sample S to the center of the territory may be used. In this case, since the optical axis of the laser beam condensed on the pupil plane 5a of the objective lens 5 is not inclined with respect to the normal line of the pupil plane 5a, a structure in which the excitation light is not easily vignetted in the objective lens 5 is obtained. The effect that it becomes difficult to generate | occur | produce the lack of the illumination field of a fluorescence illumination area | region is acquired.

  The number of laser light sources 11 is not necessarily one, but a plurality of lasers having different wavelengths, a laser combiner that coaxially arranges a plurality of laser optical axes, and a single objective lens for each wavelength used. A total reflection illumination optical system 40 capable of storing a plurality of positions of the group 42 may be combined. In this case, since the influence of the aberration of the objective lens 5 can be eliminated, there is an effect that an optimal total reflection fluorescent illumination can be realized for each wavelength.

  Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and is described in the column of the effect of the invention. If the above effect is obtained, a configuration from which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the total reflection fluorescent lighting apparatus concerning one embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows schematic structure of an example of the conventional illumination switching apparatus. The figure which shows schematic structure of the microscope apparatus which can selectively acquire the conventional LSM image and evanescent image.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inverted microscope main body, 2 ... Cover glass 3 ... Stage, 4 ... Cube cassette 4a ... Total reflection mirror, 4b ... Dichroic mirror 5 ... Objective lens, 5a ... Pupil plane 511 ... Tip lens, 6 ... Optical path folding mirror 7 ... Mirror Tube, 7a ... Imaging lens 8 ... CCD camera, 8a ... Imaging surface 9 ... Monitor, 11 ... Laser light source 12 ... Condensing lens, 13 ... Optical fiber 13a ... Incoming end, 13b ... Outgoing end 14 ... Collimating lens unit, 14a ... collimating lens 14b ... afocal zoom lens, 14c ... beam shifter 20 ... scan unit, 21 ... dichroic mirror 22 ... galvano mirror unit, 23 ... pupil projection lens 24 ... imaging lens, 25 ... confocal lens 26 ... confocal pinhole 27 ... Dichroic mirrors 28a, 28b ... Barrier fill 29a, 29b ... detector 30 ... illumination method switching device, 31 ... mirror cube 40 ... total reflection illumination optical system, 41a. 41b ... relay lens 42 ... folding mirror group, 50 ... illumination area control device, 51 ... switch,

Claims (10)

In the total reflection fluorescent illumination device attached to the microscope that can focus the laser light on the pupil plane of the objective lens and illuminate the sample with total reflection fluorescence,
A total reflection fluorescent illumination device comprising illumination region control means for irradiating illumination light only to a region designated on an observation image. The illumination area control means is a field stop capable of size and position control, and controls the size and position of the field stop according to an area specified by the observation image. The total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to 1. The illumination area control means includes a first optical means for changing the NA of light condensed on the pupil plane of the objective lens, and a second optical axis for tilting the optical axis of light incident on the pupil plane of the objective lens. 2. The total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the total reflection fluorescent lighting device is an optical means, and controls the first optical means and the second optical means in accordance with a region designated by the observation image. 4. The total reflection fluorescent illumination device according to claim 3, wherein the first optical means is a zoom optical system. 4. The total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the second optical means is rotatable parallel flat glass. A galvanometer mirror for scanning light in a plane, a relay optical system for conjugating the galvanometer mirror and the specimen, and scanning laser microscope observation by inserting / removing an optical element on a common optical path; Comprising an optical path switching means capable of switching the total reflection fluorescent illumination observation,
6. The total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the total reflection fluorescent lighting range in the depth direction can be varied by fixing the galvanometer mirror at an arbitrary angle. The illumination area control means makes it possible to select a mode for defining the irradiation area with a constant light density per unit area of the illumination range and a mode for increasing the light density to define the irradiation area during total reflection fluorescent illumination observation. 4. The total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to claim 1, further comprising means. In the total reflection fluorescent illumination device attached to the microscope that can focus the laser light on the pupil plane of the objective lens and illuminate the sample with total reflection fluorescence,
Providing a first optical means for varying the NA of light condensed on the pupil plane of the objective lens;
A total reflection fluorescent illumination device characterized in that the size of the region for total reflection illumination is varied by adjusting the first optical means. 9. The total reflection fluorescent illumination device according to claim 8, wherein the first optical means is a zoom optical system provided in an illumination optical path. A second optical system for tilting an optical axis of light incident on the pupil plane of the objective lens is further provided, and the irradiation area of the sample that is totally reflected can be varied in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis. Item 9. The total reflection fluorescent lighting device according to Item 8.

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