Microscope Temperature Control Stage Warmer at Amazon
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Background: During live cell imaging, environmental parameters, such as temperature, CO2 and humidity, will have to be controlled to optimize experimental results. A well- controlled surroundings not only provides cells the best condition they need to grow, but also denigrate the focus drift caused by thermal fluctuation. Types of microscope incubator (also known as environmental control chamber): There are two main types of microscope incubators- A. Cage incubator: An acrylic chamber which encloses the whole microscope. It provides stable temperature all over the chamber. As it needs to warm up the air inside whole chamber, it normally takes 30 minutes for the temperature to stabilize at preset temperature. B. Stage incubator: A compact metal chamber which may be mounted on the microscope stage. As the stage chamber may be effortlessly got rid of from the stage, it’s commodious for shared microscope facility. On the other hand, inhomogeneous temperature distribution is commonly a trade-off for this kind of incubator. Temperature Control: Typically, the temperature in the microscope incubator may be set from ambient to 50°C. The control accuracy depends on the design and type of incubators. For example, without modern control, a typical stage incubator might have a 2 °C divergence in temperature throughout the sample. On the other hand, a well-designed cage incubator yields a control precision of ± 0.2 °C. Humidity Control: During the time-lapse imaging, cell culture medium might evaporate and thence modify cell conditions dramatically. To minimize medium evaporation, a little chamber connecting a water reservoirs is ordinarily used to cover the sample. Passing through the water reservoir, the air gets humidified and then enter the little chamber. This technique ought to keep the relative humidity inside the little chamber amid 90-100% CO2 Control: For live-cell imaging, 5% CO2 is commonly supplied to a little chamber to keep the PH of culture medium constant. Most labs use 5% CO2 gas cylinder directly, while some others use 100% CO2 cylinder with a CO2 controller. Temperature Sensor Setup: The closer the distance amongst sensor and the sample, the better the temperature control. However, putting the sensor directly into the medium might alter the characteristics of the sensor and it will need calibration later on. Microscope Incubator Customization: As the microscope configuration varies widely, the microscope incubators commonly need to be customized for person setup. Other considerations: Heat origins like mercury lamps must be isolated from the environmental control chamber to ascertain optimal temperature control |
